Is Gravity Always Enough to Yield a Classical Universe?
Fuente:
arXiv
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| Autore principale: | |
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| Natura: | Preprint |
| Pubblicazione: |
2026
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| Accesso online: | |
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| _version_ | 1866918423965990912 |
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| author | Ireland, Aurora |
| author_facet | Ireland, Aurora |
| contents | The origin of cosmic structure is widely regarded as quantum, yet the Universe today appears classical. Standard lore attributes this to a "quantum-to-classical" transition on super-horizon scales during inflation. Gravity plays a central role: super-horizon dynamics squeeze quantum states, while the cosmological horizon enforces a system-environment split, leading to decoherence. But are these mechanisms always sufficient? We revisit this question, identifying assumptions and limitations in conventional arguments. We highlight recent work showing that beyond slow roll, non-linear dynamics of cosmological perturbations can generate non-classical features that may survive in observables. This raises the tantalizing possibility that quantum signatures may persist in cosmic structure. We propose a phase-space analysis based on the Wigner function as a concrete route to identifying and probing such signatures. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_01283 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Is Gravity Always Enough to Yield a Classical Universe? Ireland, Aurora General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics High Energy Physics - Theory The origin of cosmic structure is widely regarded as quantum, yet the Universe today appears classical. Standard lore attributes this to a "quantum-to-classical" transition on super-horizon scales during inflation. Gravity plays a central role: super-horizon dynamics squeeze quantum states, while the cosmological horizon enforces a system-environment split, leading to decoherence. But are these mechanisms always sufficient? We revisit this question, identifying assumptions and limitations in conventional arguments. We highlight recent work showing that beyond slow roll, non-linear dynamics of cosmological perturbations can generate non-classical features that may survive in observables. This raises the tantalizing possibility that quantum signatures may persist in cosmic structure. We propose a phase-space analysis based on the Wigner function as a concrete route to identifying and probing such signatures. |
| title | Is Gravity Always Enough to Yield a Classical Universe? |
| topic | General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics High Energy Physics - Theory |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.01283 |