arXiv subjects

Hugo Holland

Publications and source records attributed to Hugo Holland.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Explicit gauge-invariant variables in multifield inflation beyond linear order and Hamiltonian dynamics

General relativity coupled to multiple scalar fields is a diffeomorphism-invariant constrained system. Consequently, a naive counting of the perturbative degrees of freedom unavoidably overestimates the true number of physical modes propagating in the theory, as gauge redundancies and constraint equations remove non-dynamical ones. While this problem has been solved for linear fluctuations, this work presents the first explicit calculation of all large-scale gauge-invariant phase-space variables in multifield inflation and at second order in perturbation theory, in a Hamiltonian language. Building upon the well-known Sasaki-Mukhanov variables, we show how to construct a finite-dimensional basis of quadratic corrections which are invariant under gauge transformations. Although our procedure is generic to any number of fields and at any scale, we restrict to super-Hubble scales for their explicit solution, which we deliver. Henceforth, we prove that it is possible to recover the usual flat-gauge and comoving-gauge fluctuations as large-scale gauge-invariant combinations, making for a robust consistency check of the gauge-fixed procedure to connect theoretical predictions above the horizon to observations. We derive the quadratic and cubic Hamiltonian of multifield inflation in a gauge independent manner, then we gauge fix our theory by going into the flat gauge, and we show perfect agreement with the literature on this topic, usually based on a Lagrangian approach. After these concrete steps, we propose a more formal proof of the existence of gauge-invariant variables at quadratic order, and we provide a sketch of the procedure that should allow to go to higher orders in perturbation theory.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2025

Separate universe in multifield inflation: a phase-space approach

In this article we extend a study of the validity conditions of the separate-universe approach of cosmological perturbations to models of inflation with multiple fields. The separate-universe approach consists in describing the universe as a collection of homogeneous and isotropic patches, giving us an effective description of perturbation theory at large scales through phase-space reduction. This approximation is a necessary step in stochastic inflation, an effective theory of coarse-grained, super-Hubble, scalar fields fluctuations. One needs a stochastic inflation description in the context of primordial black hole productions since it needs enhancements of the curvature power spectrum. It easily achievable in multifield inflation models but necessarily comes with strong diffusive effects. We study and compare cosmological perturbation theory and the separate-universe approach in said non-linear sigma models as a typical framework of multifield inflation and employing the Hamiltonian formalism to keep track of the complete phase space (or the reduced isotropic phase space in the separate-universe approach). We find that the separate-universe approach adequately describes the cosmological perturbation theory provided the wavelength of the modes considered is greater that several lower bounds that depend on the cosmological horizon and the inverse of the effective Hamiltonian masses of the fields; the latter being fixed by the coupling potential and the field-space geometry. We also compare gauge-invariant variables and several gauge fixing procedures in both approaches. For instance, we showed that the uniform-expansion gauge is nicely described by the separate-universe picture, hence qualifying its use in stochastic inflation as commonly done.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

The Separate Universe approach for multifield inflation models

Primordial black holes could constitute part or all of dark matter but they require large inhomogeneities to form in the early universe. These inhomogeneities can strongly backreact on the large scale dynamics of the universe. Stochastic inflation provides a way of studying this backreaction and getting an estimation of the abundance of primordial black holes. Because stochastic inflation focuses on large scale dynamics, it rests on the separate universe approach. However, the validity of this approach has only been checked in single field models, but not in multifield models in which we expect strong boosts in the power spectrum, leading to the formation of primordial black holes. We will check the validity of a separate universe approach in multifield models by matching it with a complete cosmological perturbation theory approach at large scales. In particular, we wish to compare these two paradigms and their differences in the adiabatic and entropic directions of the phase space. This will give us a range of validity and conditions one needs to verify in order to apply the separate universe approach and stochastic inflation in multifield models.

astro-ph.CO↗