Bubble fluctuations in $\Omega<1$ inflation

TL;DR

This paper calculates quantum fluctuations deforming bubbles in open inflation, linking these to observable microwave anisotropies, and finds conditions where these effects dominate over standard gravitational waves.

Contribution

It introduces a new calculation of bubble shape fluctuations in open inflation and their impact on cosmic microwave background anisotropies, highlighting effects larger than ordinary gravitational waves.

Findings

Fluctuations produce temperature anisotropies of order δT/T ~ H(R_0μl)^{-1/2}(1-Ω)^{l/2}

Effects are significant for (1-Ω)<<1 and GμR_0<<1, potentially dominating standard gravitational wave signals

The new effect diminishes as Ω approaches 1, where it disappears.

Abstract

In the context of the open inflationary universe, we calculate the amplitude of quantum fluctuations which deform the bubble shape. These give rise to scalar field fluctuations in the open Friedman-Robertson-Walker universe which is contained inside the bubble. One can transform to a new gauge in which matter looks perfectly smooth, and then the perturbations behave as tensor modes (gravitational waves of very long wavelength). For $(1-\Omega)<<1$, where $\Omega$ is the density parameter, the microwave temperature anisotropies produced by these modes are of order $\delta T/T\sim H(R_0\mu l)^{-1/2} (1-\Omega)^{l/2}$. Here, $H$ is the expansion rate during inflation, $R_0$ is the intrinsic radius of the bubble at the time of nucleation, $\mu$ is the bubble wall tension and $l$ labels the different multipoles ($l>1$). The gravitational backreaction of the bubble has been ignored. In this approximation, $G\mu R_0<<1$, and the new effect can be much larger than the one due to ordinary gravitational waves generated during inflation (unless, of course, $\Omega$ gets too close to one, in which case the new effect disappears).