Thermally induced density perturbations in the inflation era

Arjun Berera*, Li Zhi Fang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

The possibility of thermally induced initial density perturbations in inflationary cosmology is examined. The fluctuation dynamics of a scalar field plus a thermal bath system during slow roll is described by a Langevin-like equation. Fluctuation-dissipation arguments show that for a wide parameter range within the standard inflation model, the thermal fluctuations of the scalar field can dominate its quantum fluctuations. The initial amplitude of density perturbations is found to lie in a range which is consistent with the recent observations of cosmic temperature fluctuations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1912-1915
Number of pages4
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume74
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1995

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