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(When) Do Inflationary Perturbations Classicalize?

Cosmology, Physical Cosmology and seminar by Aurora Ireland, Stanford University

Hosted by Perimeter Institute Recorded Seminar Archive

Tuesday 13:00 UTC

Recording available

Waterloo, Canada
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Recording

1 h 27 min

Abstract

Primordial fluctuations need not lose their quantum character as quickly as commonly assumed. Using inflationary effective theory beyond slow roll, this talk constructs Wigner functions whose negative interference fringes diagnose nonclassical behaviour. Those features can strengthen outside the horizon, and in some motivated regimes their creation outpaces environmental decoherence. The resulting phase-space structure suggests cosmological observables that might retain evidence of the fluctuations' quantum origins.

Topics

Primordial fluctuationsquantum characterinflationary effective theoryslow rollWigner functionsnegative interference fringesnonclassical behaviourenvironmental decoherencephase-space structurecosmological observables