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arXiv · 2505.03453

Vacuum Polarization Effects During the Reheating Epoch

A. B. Arbuzov·A. A. Nikitenko
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Abstract

Quantum effects in the era of reheating of the universe after inflation are considered. A semiclassical approach to gravity theory is applied within Starobinsky's inflationary model with backreaction. Some subtleties associated with accounting for quantum effects in the one-loop approximation are clarified. An estimate of the contribution of vacuum polarization in the stress-energy tensor of matter fields to the cosmological particle creation due to the scalaron decay is presented.

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A. B. Arbuzov, A. A. Nikitenko. 2025-05-06. Vacuum Polarization Effects During the Reheating Epoch. https://doi.org/10.1103/wdz1-gytd

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