2006/11/30 by João Magueijo, Joao Magueijo, Lee Smolin +2
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Classical mechanics #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Critical phenomena #Einstein #Fluctuation spectrum #Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker metric #Holography #Invariant (physics) #Mathematical physics #Metric (unit) #Phase (matter) #Phase transition #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Scale (ratio) #Scale invariance #Statistical physics #Theoretical physics #Thermal #Thermal fluctuations #Thermodynamics #Universe #astro-ph #gr-qc #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0264-9381/24/14/009
published as Class.Quant.Grav.24:3691-3700,2007 · Extended discussion, with revisions
arxiv created 2006/12/11 · openalex publication_date 2007/07/04 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
We study a scenario for the very early universe in which there is a fast phase transition from a non-geometric, high temperature phase to a low temperature, geometric phase described by a classical solution to the Einstein equations. In spite of the absence of a classical metric, the thermodynamics of the high temperature phase may be described by making use of the holographic principle. The thermal spectrum of fluctuations in the high temperature phase manifests itself after the phase transition as a scale-invariant spectrum of fluctuations. A simple model of the phase transition confirms that the near scale invariance of the fluctuations is natural, but the model also withstands a detailed comparison with the data.