Cargando…
Closed String Thermodynamics and a Blue Tensor Spectrum
The BICEP-2 team has reported the detection of primordial cosmic microwave background B-mode polarization, with hints of a suppression of power at large angular scales relative to smaller scales. Provided that the B-mode polarization is due to primordial gravitational waves, this might imply a blue...
Autores principales: | , , |
---|---|
Lenguaje: | eng |
Publicado: |
2014
|
Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.90.067301 http://cds.cern.ch/record/1669917 |
_version_ | 1780935552778895360 |
---|---|
author | Brandenberger, Robert H. Nayeri, Ali Patil, Subodh P. |
author_facet | Brandenberger, Robert H. Nayeri, Ali Patil, Subodh P. |
author_sort | Brandenberger, Robert H. |
collection | CERN |
description | The BICEP-2 team has reported the detection of primordial cosmic microwave background B-mode polarization, with hints of a suppression of power at large angular scales relative to smaller scales. Provided that the B-mode polarization is due to primordial gravitational waves, this might imply a blue tilt of the primordial gravitational wave spectrum. Such a tilt would be incompatible with standard inflationary models, although it was predicted some years ago in the context of a mechanism that thermally generates the primordial perturbations through a Hagedorn phase of string cosmology. The purpose of this note is to encourage greater scrutiny of the data with priors informed by a model that is immediately falsifiable, but which \textit{predicts} features that might be favoured by the data-- namely a blue tensor tilt with an induced and complimentary red tilt to the scalar spectrum, with a naturally large tensor to scalar ratio that relates to both. |
id | cern-1669917 |
institution | Organización Europea para la Investigación Nuclear |
language | eng |
publishDate | 2014 |
record_format | invenio |
spelling | cern-16699172023-03-14T19:38:28Zdoi:10.1103/PhysRevD.90.067301http://cds.cern.ch/record/1669917engBrandenberger, Robert H.Nayeri, AliPatil, Subodh P.Closed String Thermodynamics and a Blue Tensor SpectrumAstrophysics and AstronomyThe BICEP-2 team has reported the detection of primordial cosmic microwave background B-mode polarization, with hints of a suppression of power at large angular scales relative to smaller scales. Provided that the B-mode polarization is due to primordial gravitational waves, this might imply a blue tilt of the primordial gravitational wave spectrum. Such a tilt would be incompatible with standard inflationary models, although it was predicted some years ago in the context of a mechanism that thermally generates the primordial perturbations through a Hagedorn phase of string cosmology. The purpose of this note is to encourage greater scrutiny of the data with priors informed by a model that is immediately falsifiable, but which \textit{predicts} features that might be favoured by the data-- namely a blue tensor tilt with an induced and complimentary red tilt to the scalar spectrum, with a naturally large tensor to scalar ratio that relates to both.<p>The BICEP-2 team has recently reported the positive detection of cosmic microwave background <inline-formula><mml:math display="inline"><mml:mi>B</mml:mi></mml:math></inline-formula>-mode polarization. Although uncertainties due to galactic dust foregrounds remain, it is a constructive exercise to work out the implications of presuming some part of the detected <inline-formula><mml:math display="inline"><mml:mi>B</mml:mi></mml:math></inline-formula>-mode signal to be due to primordial gravitational waves. Were a positive detection of a tensor-to-scalar ratio larger than <inline-formula><mml:math display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>r</mml:mi><mml:mo>≳</mml:mo><mml:mi mathvariant="script">O</mml:mi><mml:mo stretchy="false">(</mml:mo><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mn>10</mml:mn></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mo>−</mml:mo><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msup><mml:mo stretchy="false">)</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:math></inline-formula> confirmed, detecting a tilt in the tensor spectrum comparable to that observed for the scalar power spectrum becomes in principle possible. We wish to explore in this brief paper the possibility of there being a blue tilt to the primordial gravitational-wave spectrum. Such a tilt would be incompatible with standard inflationary models, although it was predicted some years ago in the context of a mechanism that thermally generates the primordial perturbations through a Hagedorn phase of string cosmology. By scrutinizing the data with priors informed by a model that is immediately falsifiable, but which <italic>predicts</italic> features that may be favored by the data—namely a blue tensor tilt with an induced and complementary red tilt to the scalar spectrum, with a naturally large tensor-to-scalar ratio that relates to both—we offer a useful straw model against which to test the predictions of single-field inflation.</p>The BICEP-2 team has reported the detection of primordial cosmic microwave background B-mode polarization, with hints of a suppression of power at large angular scales relative to smaller scales. Provided that the B-mode polarization is due to primordial gravitational waves, this might imply a blue tilt of the primordial gravitational wave spectrum. Such a tilt would be incompatible with standard inflationary models, although it was predicted some years ago in the context of a mechanism that thermally generates the primordial perturbations through a Hagedorn phase of string cosmology. The purpose of this note is to encourage greater scrutiny of the data with priors informed by a model that is immediately falsifiable, but which \textit{predicts} features that might be favoured by the data-- namely a blue tensor tilt with an induced and complimentary red tilt to the scalar spectrum, with a naturally large tensor to scalar ratio that relates to both.arXiv:1403.4927CERN-PH-TH-2014-043CERN-PH-TH-2014-043oai:cds.cern.ch:16699172014-03-19 |
spellingShingle | Astrophysics and Astronomy Brandenberger, Robert H. Nayeri, Ali Patil, Subodh P. Closed String Thermodynamics and a Blue Tensor Spectrum |
title | Closed String Thermodynamics and a Blue Tensor Spectrum |
title_full | Closed String Thermodynamics and a Blue Tensor Spectrum |
title_fullStr | Closed String Thermodynamics and a Blue Tensor Spectrum |
title_full_unstemmed | Closed String Thermodynamics and a Blue Tensor Spectrum |
title_short | Closed String Thermodynamics and a Blue Tensor Spectrum |
title_sort | closed string thermodynamics and a blue tensor spectrum |
topic | Astrophysics and Astronomy |
url | https://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.90.067301 http://cds.cern.ch/record/1669917 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT brandenbergerroberth closedstringthermodynamicsandabluetensorspectrum AT nayeriali closedstringthermodynamicsandabluetensorspectrum AT patilsubodhp closedstringthermodynamicsandabluetensorspectrum |