2010/07/31 by Lotty Ackerman, Willy Fischler, Sandipan Kundu +1 · 20 citations
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #A priori and a posteriori #Acceleration #Astrophysics #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Classical mechanics #Cosmology #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Dark energy #De Sitter universe #Epoch (astronomy) #Equation of state #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Inflation (cosmology) #Inflationary epoch #Mathematical physics #Mathematics #Metric expansion of space #Physics #Quantum electrodynamics #Quantum mechanics #Spectral density #State (computer science) #Statistics #Theoretical physics #Universe #astro-ph.CO #gr-qc #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2011/05/024
published in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics 2011(05), 024 (Institute of Physics) · 12 pages, 2 figure
openalex publication_date 2011/05/26 · arxiv created 2011/09/23 · arxiv updated 2015/05/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We explore possible constraints on the inflationary equation state: p = w ρ. While w must be close to -1 for those modes that contribute to the observed power spectrum, for those modes currently out of experimental reach, the constraints on w are much weaker, with only w < −1/3 as an a priori requirement. We find, however, that limits on the reheat temperature and the inflationary energy scale constrain w further, though there is still ample parameter space for a vastly different (accelerating) equation of state between the end of quasi-de Sitter inflation and the beginning of the radiation-dominated era. In the event that such an epoch of acceleration could be observed, we review the consequences for the primordial power spectrum.