Classical and quantum evolution of inflationary fluctuations

We compare the correlation functions of inflationary perturbations computed either with quantum or classical dynamics. Even if they are enforced to agree at a specific time during inflation, classical and quantum correlations will differ at the end of inflation, provided that interactions are relevant. The difference between the results of the classical and quantum computations is exponentially sensitive to the number of e-folds elapsed from the time of agreement. We illustrate this finding with the tree-level bispectrum of the primordial curvature fluctuation and the one-loop power spectrum of tensor modes. We also show that classical evolution from a finite time does not imply the appearance of poles in the scalar bispectrum.

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Publication Details

Journal
Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
Published
2026-11-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/w7y3-gxbr
Primary Topic
Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Classical and quantum evolution of inflationary fluctuations

Alejandro Pérez Rodríguez, Guillermo Ballesteros, Jesús Gambín Egea
1 links
Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
article

Classical and quantum evolution of inflationary fluctuations

Alejandro Pérez Rodríguez, Guillermo Ballesteros, Jesús Gambín Egea
article en

Abstract

We compare the correlation functions of inflationary perturbations computed either with quantum or classical dynamics. Even if they are enforced to agree at a specific time during inflation, classical and quantum correlations will differ at the end of inflation, provided that interactions are relevant. The difference between the results of the classical and quantum computations is exponentially sensitive to the number of e-folds elapsed from the time of agreement. We illustrate this finding with the tree-level bispectrum of the primordial curvature fluctuation and the one-loop power spectrum of tensor modes. We also show that classical evolution from a finite time does not imply the appearance of poles in the scalar bispectrum.

Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
European Commission, European Regional Development Fund, Agencia Estatal de Investigación
Openalex Percentile: Top 73%
Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
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