Planckian discreteness as seeds for cosmic structure

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel inflation model driven by the relaxation of a Planckian cosmological constant via diffusion, generating primordial perturbations without an inflaton and linking cosmic structure seeds to fundamental Planck-scale granularity.

Contribution

It presents a new inflationary scenario based on Planckian discreteness that explains CMB perturbations and dark matter production without requiring an inflaton field.

Findings

Produces a scale-invariant primordial power spectrum with correct amplitude and tilt.

Links CMB inhomogeneities to Planck-scale granularity imprinted in Higgs fluctuations.

Suggests primordial black holes as dark matter candidates.

Abstract

We propose a model of inflation driven by the relaxation of an initially Planckian cosmological constant due to diffusion. The model can generate a (approximately) scale invariant spectrum of (adiabatic) primordial perturbations with the correct amplitudes and red tilt without an inflaton. The inhomogeneities observable in the CMB arise from those associated to the fundamental Planckian granularity that are imprinted into the standard model Higgs scalar fluctuations during the inflationary phase. The process admits a semiclassical interpretation and avoids the trans-Planckian problem of standard inflationary scenarios based on the role of vacuum fluctuations. The deviations from scale invariance observed in the CMB are controlled by the self coupling constant of the Higgs scalar of the standard model of particle physics. The thermal production of primordial black holes can produce the amount of cold dark matter required by observations. For natural initial conditions set at the Planck scale the amplitude and tilt of the power spectrum of perturbations observed at the CMB depend only on known parameters of the standard model such as the self coupling of the Higgs scalar and its mass.