Vacuum Fluctuations as a Source of Adiabatic Perturbations in Power Law Inflationary Cosmology

TL;DR

This paper investigates how quantum fluctuations decohere in power-law inflation models, revealing that classical density perturbations may not form under certain conditions, thus constraining inflationary theories.

Contribution

It provides a new analysis of decoherence constraints in power-law inflation, impacting the viability of extended inflation models.

Findings

Decoherence may not occur in models with 1< p < 3

Decoherence constraints are independent of subsequent evolution

Implications for extended inflation models

Abstract

An analysis of the decoherence of quantum fluctuations shows that production of classical adiabatic density perturbations may not take place in models of power-law inflation with power 1< p < 3. Some consequences for models of extended inflation are pointed out. In general, the condition for decoherence places new constraint on inflationary models, which does not depend on often complicated subsequent evolution.