Transplanckian energy production and slow roll inflation

TL;DR

This paper explores how a non-standard initial vacuum state influences inflation, suggesting it can induce slow roll inflation and affect the cosmological constant, with implications for early universe models.

Contribution

It introduces a framework incorporating non-standard vacuum choices into Friedmann equations, revealing their potential to generate slow roll inflation without a predefined cosmological constant.

Findings

Non-standard vacuum affects energy density during inflation.

Energy production leads to a slow rolling cosmological constant.

No fixed value for the cosmological constant in the presence of sources.

Abstract

In this paper we investigate how the energy density due to a non-standard choice of initial vacuum affects the expansion of the universe during inflation. To do this we introduce source terms in the Friedmann equations making sure that we respect the relation between gravity and thermodynamics. We find that the energy production automatically implies a slow rolling cosmological constant. Hence we also conclude that there is no well defined value for the cosmological constant in the presence of sources. We speculate that a non-standard vacuum can provide slow roll inflation on its own.