Vacuum Polarization Effects During the Reheating Epoch

TL;DR

This paper investigates quantum vacuum polarization effects during the universe's reheating phase after inflation, using a semiclassical gravity approach within Starobinsky's model to estimate their impact on particle creation.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of quantum effects in reheating, clarifying subtleties in the one-loop approximation and estimating vacuum polarization contributions.

Findings

Vacuum polarization significantly influences matter stress-energy during reheating.

Quantum effects can alter the rate of scalaron decay and particle production.

Clarification of quantum correction calculations in semiclassical gravity.

Abstract

Quantum effects in the era of reheating of the universe after inflation are considered. A semiclassical approach to gravity theory is applied within Starobinsky's inflationary model with backreaction. Some subtleties associated with accounting for quantum effects in the one-loop approximation are clarified. An estimate of the contribution of vacuum polarization in the stress-energy tensor of matter fields to the cosmological particle creation due to the scalaron decay is presented.