论文标题

洛伦兹真空过渡:开放还是封闭的宇宙?

Lorentzian Vacuum Transitions: Open or Closed Universes?

论文作者

Cespedes, Sebastian, de Alwis, Senarath P., Muia, Francesco, Quevedo, Fernando

论文摘要

我们考虑WKB近似中量子隧穿的转变的概括,以与时间无关的功能性Schrödinger和Wheeler-Dewitt方程。按照洛伦兹的方法,我们计算了不同标量场真空吸尘器之间的过渡速率,并与科尔曼和合作者使用欧几里得方法进行的过渡速率进行了比较。对于重力,我们开发了一种一般形式主义,用于计算惠勒超空间中的过渡速率。然后将其应用于在平坦空间中的计算衰减,然后在重力存在下进行过渡。在后一种情况下,我们指出的是,在微型苏格体空间的简化背景下具有非阳性的确定动力学术语而产生的复杂性。这对应于众所周知的“隧道”场景的概括。尽管我们可以获得通过欧几里得方法获得的过渡的主要术语,但我们还指出了一些差异和歧义。我们表明,在保姆过渡到保姆过渡后,新的真空吸尘器的球形($(4)$)对称闭合切片没有阻碍。我们认为,这是科尔曼·戴·卢西亚(Coleman-de Luccia Instanton)的自然洛伦兹(Lorentzian)实现,并且如果放松了小型苏珀斯空间假设,也将获得封闭的宇宙。这与Coleman-De Luccia预测的开放宇宙相反,Coleman-De Luccia依赖于气泡成核后进行的分析延续。我们的发现可能具有与通货膨胀起源和弦景观有关的重要宇宙学意义。特别是,他们质疑广泛的信念,即封闭宇宙的证据将排除弦景观。

We consider the generalisation of quantum tunneling transitions in the WKB approximation to the time-independent functional Schrödinger and Wheeler-DeWitt equations. Following a Lorentzian approach, we compute the transition rates among different scalar field vacua and compare with those performed by Coleman and collaborators using the Euclidean approach. For gravity, we develop a general formalism for computing transition rates in Wheeler's superspace. This is then applied to computing decays in flat space and then to transitions in the presence of gravity. In the latter case we point out the complexities arising from having non-positive definite kinetic terms illustrating them in the simplified context of mini-superspace. This corresponds to a generalisation of the well-known `tunneling from nothing' scenarios. While we can obtain the leading term for the transitions obtained by Euclidean methods we also point out some differences and ambiguities. We show that there is no obstruction to keeping the spherically ($SO(4)$) symmetric closed slicing for the new vacuum after a de Sitter to de Sitter transition. We argue that this is the natural Lorentzian realisation of the Coleman-De Luccia instanton and that a closed universe is also obtained if the mini-superspace assumption is relaxed. This is contrary to the open universe predicted by Coleman-De Luccia which relies on an analytic continuation performed after bubble nucleation. Our findings may have important cosmological implications related to the origin of inflation and to the string landscape. In particular, they question the widespread belief that evidence for a closed universe would rule out the string landscape.

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