Predicting a prior for Planck
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, Leuven, 3001 (Belgium)
The quantum state of the universe combined with the structure of the landscape potential implies a prior that specifies predictions for observations. We compute the prior for CMB related observables given by the no-boundary wave function (NBWF) in a landscape model that includes a range of inflationary patches representative of relatively simple single-field models. In this landscape the NBWF predicts our classical cosmological background emerges from a region of eternal inflation associated with a plateau-like potential. The spectra of primordial fluctuations on observable scales are characteristic of concave potentials, in excellent agreement with the Planck data. By contrast, alternative theories of initial conditions that strongly favor inflation at high values of the potential are disfavored by observations in this landscape.
- OSTI ID:
- 22370679
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Vol. 2014, Issue 02; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1475-7516
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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