Cosmological significance of one-loop effective gravity

TL;DR

This paper investigates quantum corrections to Einstein's gravity in a cosmological context, revealing that non-local quantum effects can significantly influence early universe inflation dynamics.

Contribution

It demonstrates the potential importance of non-local quantum gravity effects during the inflationary phase of the early universe.

Findings

Non-local terms become significant during inflation.

Quantum corrections can cause deviations from standard inflation.

Early universe dynamics are affected by quantum gravity effects.

Abstract

We study the one-loop effective action for gravity in a cosmological setup to determine possible cosmological effects of quantum corrections to Einstein theory. By considering the effect of the universal non-local terms in a toy model, we show that they can play an important role in the very early universe. We find that during inflation, the non-local terms are significant, leading to deviations from the standard inflationary expansion.