arXiv subjects

Vincent Vennin

Publications and source records attributed to Vincent Vennin.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2024

Encyclopaedia Inflationaris

The current flow of high accuracy astrophysical data, among which are the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) measurements by the Planck satellite, offers an unprecedented opportunity to constrain the inflationary theory. This is however a challenging project given the size of the inflationary landscape which contains hundreds of different scenarios. Given that there is currently no observational evidence for primordial non-Gaussianities, isocurvature perturbations or any other non-minimal extension of the inflationary paradigm, a reasonable approach is to consider the simplest models first, namely the slow-roll single field models with minimal kinetic terms. This still leaves us with a very populated landscape, the exploration of which requires new and efficient strategies. It has been customary to tackle this problem by means of approximate model independent methods while a more ambitious alternative is to study the inflationary scenarios one by one. We have developed the publicly available runtime library ASPIC to implement this last approach. The ASPIC code provides all routines needed to quickly derive reheating-consistent observable predictions within this class of scenarios. ASPIC has been designed as an evolutive code which presently supports 118 different models. In this paper, for each of the ASPIC models, we present and collect new results in a systematic manner, thereby constituting the first Encyclopaedia Inflationaris.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

Vanilla Inflation Predicts Negative Running

We show that the simplest, and currently favoured, theoretical realizations of cosmic inflation yield a sharp prediction for the running of the spectral index $α_\mathrm{S}$. Using latest cosmological data, we compute its marginalized posterior probability distribution over the space of nearly 300 models of single-field slow-roll inflation. The most probable value is $α_\mathrm{S}=-6.3 \times 10^{-4}$, lying within the $98\%$ credible interval $-1.8 \times 10^{-3}< α_\mathrm{S}< -9.1 \times 10^{-5}$. Within the landscape of all the proposed slow-roll inflationary models, positive values for the running are therefore disfavoured at more than three-sigma.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

Observational constraints on quantum decoherence during inflation

Since inflationary perturbations must generically couple to all degrees of freedom present in the early Universe, it is more realistic to view these fluctuations as an open quantum system interacting with an environment. Then, on very general grounds, their evolution can be modelled with a Lindblad equation. This modified evolution leads to quantum decoherence of the system, as well as to corrections to observables such as the power spectrum of curvature fluctuations. On one hand, current cosmological observations constrain the properties of possible environments and place upper bounds on the interaction strengths. On the other hand, imposing that decoherence completes by the end of inflation implies lower bounds on the interaction strengths. Therefore, the question arises of whether successful decoherence can occur without altering the power spectrum. In this paper, we systematically identify all scenarios in which this is possible. As an illustration, we discuss the case in which the environment consists of a heavy test scalar field. We show that this realises the very peculiar configuration where the correction to the power spectrum is quasi scale invariant. In that case, the presence of the environment improves the fit to the data for some inflationary models but deteriorates it for others. This clearly demonstrates that decoherence is not only of theoretical importance but can also be crucial for astrophysical observations.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

Clustering of primordial black holes from quantum diffusion during inflation

We study how large fluctuations are spatially correlated in the presence of quantum diffusion during inflation. This is done by computing real-space correlation functions in the stochastic-$δN$ formalism. We first derive an exact description of physical distances as measured by a local observer at the end of inflation, improving on previous works. Our approach is based on recursive algorithmic methods that consistently include volume-weighting effects. We then propose a "large-volume'' approximation under which calculations can be done using first-passage time analysis only, and from which a new formula for the power spectrum in stochastic inflation is derived. We then study the full two-point statistics of the curvature perturbation. Due to the presence of exponential tails, we find that the joint distribution of large fluctuations is of the form $P(ζ_{R_1}, ζ_{R_2}) = F(R_1,R_2,r) P(ζ_{R_1})P( ζ_{R_2})$, where $ζ_{R_1}$ and $ζ_{R_2}$ denote the curvature perturbation coarse-grained at radii $R_1$ and $R_2$, around two spatial points distant by $r$. This implies that, on the tail, the reduced correlation function, defined as $P(ζ_{R_1}>ζ_{\rm{c}}, ζ_{R_2}>ζ_{\rm{c}})/[P(ζ_{R_1}>ζ_{\rm{c}}) P(ζ_{R_2}>ζ_{\rm{c}})]-1$, is independent of the threshold value $ζ_{\rm{c}}$. This contrasts with Gaussian statistics where the same quantity strongly decays with $ζ_{\rm{c}}$, and shows the existence of a universal clustering profile for all structures forming in the exponential tails. Structures forming in the intermediate (i.e. not yet exponential) tails may feature different, model-dependent behaviours.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

In-in formalism for the entropy of quantum fields in curved spacetimes

We show how to compute the purity and entanglement entropy for quantum fields in a systematic perturbative expansion. To that end, we generalize the in-in formalism to non-unitary dynamics (i.e. accounting for the presence of an environment) and to the calculation of quantum information measures, which are not observables in the usual sense. This allows us to reduce the problem to one involving standard correlation functions, and to organize their computation in a diagrammatic expansion for which we construct the corresponding Feynman rules. As an illustration, we apply the formalism to a cosmological setting inspired by the effective field theory of inflation. We find that at late times, non-linear loop corrections share the same time behavior as the linear contribution, and only yield a slight redressing of the purity. In particular, when the environment is heavy compared to the Hubble scale, the phenomenon of recoherence previously encountered is robust to the class of non-linear extensions considered. Bridging the gap between perturbative quantum field theory and open quantum systems paves the way to a better understanding of renormalization and resummation in open effective field theories. It also enables a more systematic exploration of quantum information properties in field theoretic settings.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Cosmic Purity Lost: Perturbative and Resummed Late-Time Inflationary Decoherence

We compute the rate with which unobserved fields decohere other fields to which they couple, both in flat space and in de Sitter space, for spectator scalar fields prepared in their standard adiabatic vacuum. The process is very efficient in de Sitter space once the modes in question pass outside the Hubble scale, displaying the tell-tale phenomenon of secular growth that indicates the breakdown of perturbative methods on a time scale parameterically long compared with the Hubble time. We show how to match the perturbative evolution valid at early times onto a late-time Lindblad evolution whose domain of validity extends to much later times, thereby allowing a reliable resummation of the perturbative result beyond the perturbative regime. Super-Hubble modes turn out to be dominantly decohered by unobserved modes that are themselves also super-Hubble. Although our calculation is done for spectator fields, if applied to curvature perturbations during inflation our observations here could close a potential loophole in recent calculations of the late-time purity of the observable primordial fluctuations.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Cosmic Inflation at the Crossroads

The capability of Cosmic Inflation to explain the latest Cosmic Microwave Background and Baryonic Acoustic Oscillation data is assessed by performing Bayesian model comparison within the landscape of nearly three-hundred models of single-field slow-roll inflation. We present the first Bayesian data analysis based on the third-order slow-roll primordial power spectra. In particular, the fourth Hubble-flow function $ε_4$ remains unbounded while the third function verifies, at two-sigma, $ε_{3}\in[-0.4,0.5]$, which is perfectly compatible with the slow-roll predictions for the running of the spectral index. We also observe some residual excess of $B$-modes within the BICEP/Keck data favoring, at a non-statistically significant level, non-vanishing primordial tensor modes: $\log(ε_{1}) > -3.9$, at $68\%$ confidence level. Then, for 283 models of single-field inflation, we compute the Bayesian evidence, the Bayesian dimensionality and the marginalized posteriors of all the models' parameters, including the ones associated with the reheating era. The average information gain on the reheating parameter $R_\mathrm{reh}$ reaches $1.3 \pm 0.18$ bits, which is more than a factor two improvement compared to the first Planck data release. As such, inflationary model predictions cannot meet data accuracy without specifying, or marginalizing over, the reheating kinematics. We also find that more than $40\%$ of the scenarios are now strongly disfavored, which shows that the constraining power of cosmological data is winning against the increase of the number of proposed models. In addition, about $20\%$ of all models have evidences within the most probable region and are all favored according to the Jeffreys' scale of Bayesian evidences.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

Revisiting the stochastic QCD axion window: departure from equilibrium during inflation

If dark matter is made of QCD axions, its abundance is determined by the vacuum expectation value acquired by the axion field during inflation. The axion is usually assumed to follow the equilibrium distribution arising from quantum diffusion during inflation. This leads to the so-called stochastic window under which the QCD axion can make up all the dark matter. It is characterised by $10^{10.4}\mathrm{GeV}\leq f\leq 10^{17.2}\mathrm{GeV}$ and $H_{\mathrm{end}}>10^{-2.2}\mathrm{GeV}$, where $f$ is the axion decay constant and $H_{\mathrm{end}}$ is the Hubble expansion rate at the end of inflation. However, in realistic inflationary potentials, we show that the axion never reaches the equilibrium distribution at the end of inflation. This is because the relaxation time of the axion is much larger than the typical time scale over which $H$ varies during inflation. As a consequence, the axion acquires a quasi-flat distribution as long as it remains light during inflation. This leads us to reassessing the stochastic axion window, and we find that $ 10^{10.3}\mathrm{GeV}\leq f\leq 10^{14.1}\mathrm{GeV}$ and $H_{\mathrm{end}}>10^{-13.8}\mathrm{GeV}$.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

Why does inflation look single field to us?

Most high-energy constructions that realise a phase of cosmic inflation contain many degrees of freedom. Yet, cosmological observations are all consistent with single-field embeddings. We show how volume selection effects explain this apparent paradox. Because of quantum diffusion, different regions of space inflate by different amounts. In regions that inflate most, and eventually dominate the volume of the universe, a generic mechanism is unveiled that diverts the inflationary dynamics towards single-field attractors. The formalism of constrained stochastic inflation is developed to this end.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2024

The separate-universe approach and sudden transitions during inflation

The separate-universe approach gives an intuitive way to understand the evolution of cosmological perturbations in the long-wavelength limit. It uses solutions of the spatially-homogeneous equations of motion to model the evolution of the inhomogeneous universe on large scales. We show that the separate-universe approach fails on a finite range of super-Hubble scales at a sudden transition from slow roll to ultra-slow roll during inflation in the very early universe. Such transitions are a feature of inflation models giving a large enhancement in the primordial power spectrum on small scales, necessary to produce primordial black holes after inflation. We show that the separate-universe approach still works in a piece-wise fashion, before and after the transition, but spatial gradients on finite scales require a discontinuity in the homogeneous solution at the transition. We discuss the implications for the $δN$ formalism and stochastic inflation, which employ the separate-universe approximation.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

Spatial Curvature from Super-Hubble Cosmological Fluctuations

We revisit how super-Hubble cosmological fluctuations induce, at any time in the cosmic history, a non-vanishing spatial curvature of the local background metric. The random nature of these fluctuations promotes the curvature density parameter to a stochastic quantity for which we derive novel non-perturbative expressions for its mean, variance, higher moments and full probability distribution. For scale-invariant Gaussian perturbations, such as those favored by cosmological observations, we find that the most probable value for the curvature density parameter $Ω_\mathrm{K}$ today is $-10^{-9}$, that its mean is $+10^{-9}$, both being overwhelmed by a standard deviation of order $10^{-5}$. We then discuss how these numbers would be affected by the presence of large super-Hubble non-Gaussianities, or, if inflation lasted for a very long time. In particular, we find that substantial values of $Ω_\mathrm{K}$ are obtained if inflation lasts for more than a billion e-folds.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

Primordial black holes and their gravitational-wave signatures

In the recent years, primordial black holes (PBHs) have emerged as one of the most interesting and hotly debated topics in cosmology. Among other possibilities, PBHs could explain both some of the signals from binary black hole mergers observed in gravitational wave detectors and an important component of the dark matter in the Universe. Significant progress has been achieved both on the theory side and from the point of view of observations, including new models and more accurate calculations of PBH formation, evolution, clustering, merger rates, as well as new astrophysical and cosmological probes. In this work, we review, analyse and combine the latest developments in order to perform end-to-end calculations of the various gravitational wave signatures of PBHs. Different ways to distinguish PBHs from stellar black holes are emphasized. Finally, we discuss their detectability with LISA, the first planned gravitational-wave observatory in space.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

MSSM-inflation revisited: Towards a coherent description of high-energy physics and cosmology

The aim of this paper is to highlight the challenges and potential gains surrounding a coherent description of physics from the high-energy scales of inflation down to the lower energy scales probed in particle-physics experiments. As an example, we revisit the way inflation can be realised within an effective Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (eMSSM), in which the $LLe$ and $udd$ flat directions are lifted by the combined effect of soft-supersymmetric-breaking masses already present in the MSSM, together with the addition of effective non-renormalizable operators. We clarify some features of the model and address the question of the one-loop Renormalization Group improvement of the inflationary potential, discussing its impact on the fine-tuning of the model. We also compare the parameter space that is compatible with current observations (in particular the amplitude, $A_{\scriptscriptstyle{\mathrm{S}}}$, and the spectral index, $n_{\scriptscriptstyle{\mathrm{S}}}$, of the primordial cosmological fluctuations) at tree level and at one loop, and discuss the role of reheating. Finally we perform combined fits of particle and cosmological observables (mainly $A_{\scriptscriptstyle{\mathrm{S}}}$, $n_{\scriptscriptstyle{\mathrm{S}}}$, the Higgs mass, and the cold-dark-matter energy density) with the one-loop inflationary potential applied to some examples of dark-matter annihilation channels (Higgs-funnel, Higgsinos and A-funnel), and discuss the status of the ensuing MSSM spectra with respect to the LHC searches.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Minimal decoherence from inflation

We compute the rate with which super-Hubble cosmological fluctuations are decohered during inflation, by their gravitational interactions with unobserved shorter-wavelength scalar and tensor modes. We do so using Open Effective Field Theory methods, that remain under control at the late times of observational interest, contrary to perturbative calculations. Our result is minimal in the sense that it only incorporates the self-interactions predicted by General Relativity in single-clock models (additional interaction channels should only speed up decoherence). We find that decoherence is both suppressed by the first slow-roll parameter and by the energy density during inflation in Planckian units, but that it is enhanced by the volume comprised within the scale of interest, in Hubble units. This implies that, for the scales probed in the Cosmic Microwave Background, decoherence is effective as soon as inflation proceeds above $\sim 5\times 10^{9}$ GeV. Alternatively, if inflation proceeds at GUT scale decoherence is incomplete only for the scales crossing out the Hubble radius in the last ~ 13 e-folds, of inflation. We also compute how short-wavelength scalar modes decohere primordial tensor perturbations, finding a faster rate unsuppressed by slow-roll parameters. Identifying the parametric dependence of decoherence, and the rate at which it proceeds, helps suggest ways to look for quantum effects.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

Real-space entanglement in the Cosmic Microwave Background

We compute the entanglement entropy, mutual information and quantum discord of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) fluctuations in real space. To that end, we first show that measurements of these fluctuations at two distinct spatial locations can be described by a bipartite, continuous Gaussian system. This leads to explicit formulas for the mutual information and the quantum discord in terms of the Fourier-space power spectra of the curvature perturbation. We then find that quantum entanglement, that builds up in Fourier space between opposite wave momenta as an effect of quantum squeezing, is transferred to real space. In particular, both the mutual information and quantum discord, which decay as the fourth power of the distance between the two measurements in flat space time, asymptotes a constant in cosmological backgrounds. At the scales probed in the CMB however, they are highly suppressed, while they can reach order-one values at much smaller scales, where primordial black holes could have formed.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Quantum recoherence in the early universe

Despite being created through a fundamentally quantum-mechanical process, cosmological structures have not yet revealed any sign of genuine quantum correlations. Among the obstructions to the direct detection of quantum signatures in cosmology, environmental-induced decoherence is arguably one of the most inevitable. Yet, we discover a mechanism of quantum recoherence for the adiabatic perturbations when they couple to an entropic sector. After a transient phase of decoherence, a turning point is reached, recoherence proceeds and adiabatic perturbations exhibit a large amount of self-coherence at late-time. This result is also understood by means of a non-Markovian master equation, which reduces to Wilsonian effective-field theory in the unitary limit. This allows us to critically assess the validity of open-quantum-system methods in cosmology and to highlight that re(de)coherence from linear interactions has no flat-space analogue.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Uphill inflation

Primordial black holes (PBH) may form from large cosmological perturbations, produced during inflation when the inflaton's velocity is sufficiently slowed down. This usually requires very flat regions in the inflationary potential. In this paper we investigate another possibility, namely that the inflaton climbs up its potential. When it turns back, its velocity crosses zero, which triggers a short phase of ``uphill inflation'' during which cosmological perturbations grow at a very fast rate. This naturally occurs in double-well potentials if the width of the well is close to the Planck scale. We include the effect of quantum diffusion in this scenario, which plays a crucial role, by means of the stochastic-$δN$ formalism. We find that ultra-light black holes are produced with very high abundances, which do not depend on the energy scale at which uphill inflation occurs, and which suffer from substantially less fine tuning than in alternative PBH-production models. They are such that PBHs later drive a phase of PBH domination.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

Non-perturbative non-Gaussianity and primordial black holes

We present a non-perturbative method for calculating the abundance of primordial black holes given an arbitrary one-point probability distribution function for the primordial curvature perturbation, $P(ζ)$. A non-perturbative method is essential when considering non-Gaussianities that cannot be treated using a conventional perturbative expansion. To determine the full statistics of the density field, we relate $ζ$ to a Gaussian field by equating the cumulative distribution functions. We consider two examples: a specific local-type non-Gaussian distribution arising from ultra slow roll models, and a general piecewise model for $P(ζ)$ with an exponential tail. We demonstrate that the enhancement of primordial black hole formation is due to the intermediate regime, rather than the far tail. We also show that non-Gaussianity can have a significant impact on the shape of the primordial black hole mass distribution.

astro-ph.CO↗