Fingerprints of a Non-Inflationary Universe from Massive Fields

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Quintin, Jerome, Chen, Xingang, Ebadi, Reza
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866929497824034816
author Quintin, Jerome
Chen, Xingang
Ebadi, Reza
author_facet Quintin, Jerome
Chen, Xingang
Ebadi, Reza
contents We construct explicit models of classical primordial standard clocks in an alternative to inflation, namely the slowly contracting ekpyrotic scenario. We study the phenomenology of massive spectator fields added to a state-of-the-art ekpyrotic model, with coupling functions that allow for these heavy fields to be classically excited while the background is slowly contracting. We perform numerical computations of the corrections to the scalar primordial power spectrum and compare with analytical estimates. Our full numerical results reveal so-called clock signals, sharp feature signals, as well as signals that link the two together. The models are found to predict oscillatory features that are resolutely different from what is calculated in inflation, and thus, such features represent unique fingerprints of a slowly contracting universe. This confirms the capability of primordial standard clocks to model-independently discriminate among very early universe scenarios.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2405_11016
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Fingerprints of a Non-Inflationary Universe from Massive Fields
Quintin, Jerome
Chen, Xingang
Ebadi, Reza
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
We construct explicit models of classical primordial standard clocks in an alternative to inflation, namely the slowly contracting ekpyrotic scenario. We study the phenomenology of massive spectator fields added to a state-of-the-art ekpyrotic model, with coupling functions that allow for these heavy fields to be classically excited while the background is slowly contracting. We perform numerical computations of the corrections to the scalar primordial power spectrum and compare with analytical estimates. Our full numerical results reveal so-called clock signals, sharp feature signals, as well as signals that link the two together. The models are found to predict oscillatory features that are resolutely different from what is calculated in inflation, and thus, such features represent unique fingerprints of a slowly contracting universe. This confirms the capability of primordial standard clocks to model-independently discriminate among very early universe scenarios.
title Fingerprints of a Non-Inflationary Universe from Massive Fields
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.11016