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Predictions for Primordial Tensor Modes

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Dark Energy and the Formation of the Large Scale Structure of the Universe

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Abstract

Even though the detection turned out not to be of primordial origin [1], the BICEP2 results had the merit of putting the study of tensor modes in the spotlight by showing that the sensitivity for B-modes is reaching the levels of what is expected from theories. So far, most of the attention has been devoted to scalar perturbations, since those are the ones that give rise to the temperature anisotropies in the CMB. Although more easily connected to observations, the scalar sector is much more complex. The predictions for the power spectrum depends on many parameters, such as the speed of sound for the scalar, or the shape of the potential. This means that it is difficult to use temperature measurements to put robust constraints on models of inflation. The situation is even worse, since the almost scale invariant spectrum that Planck observed can be produced without having inflation [2].

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This action is the same as the one derived in the discussion on \(\alpha _K\) for quintessence in Sect. 2.3, without matter.

  2. 2.

    Then, the curvature starts evolving, which results in the transfer function T(k) in Eq. (1.23).

  3. 3.

    Even in more general models, satisfying the cosmological Null Energy Condition \(\rho +p>0\) implies \(\epsilon >0\). Moreover, \(\epsilon \) is usually what multiplies \(\dot{\zeta }^2\) in the quadratic action, so that the stability conditions explained in Sect. 2.4 require that it is positive. This constraint can be circumvented when there is kinetic braiding [8], i.e. \(\alpha _B\ne 0\) in the language of Chap. 2.

  4. 4.

    The idea is that if \(\dot{H}>0\), the kinetic term for the scalar field in Eq. (4.33), which is \(-g^{00}\) has the wrong sign (in the sense of Sect. 2.4).

  5. 5.

    With two derivatives, only the terms in Eq. (4.43) can appear, the other possibilities being total derivatives.

References

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  1. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, USA

    Jérôme Gleyzes

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Gleyzes, J. (2016). Predictions for Primordial Tensor Modes. In: Dark Energy and the Formation of the Large Scale Structure of the Universe. Springer Theses. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41210-8_4

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