2021/06/30 by Jondalar L. J. Kuß, David J. E. Marsh · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #astro-ph.CO #hep-ph #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.21105/astro.2106.03528
published as The Open Journal of Astrophysics, Vol 4, 2021 · 8 pages, 4 figures, version accepted for publication in the Open Journal of Astrophysics
arxiv created 2021/09/27 · arxiv updated 2021/09/29
We apply the squeezed state formalism to scalar field dark matter (e.g. axion) perturbations generated during inflation. As for the inflationary perturbations, the scalar field state becomes highly squeezed as modes exit the horizon. For as long as H>mϕ (with H the Hubble rate and mϕ the scalar mass) the scalar field field does not interact during reheating, and we follow its evolution exactly as modes re-enter the horizon. We find that the quantum state remains squeezed after horizon re-entry during the hot big bang. This demonstrates a fact well-known in the theory of inflation: cosmological observables for scalar dark matter are accurately modelled by a classical stochastic field with a fixed phase. Our calculation covers all modes smaller than the present-day cosmic de Broglie wavelength. Larger scale modes mix gravitationally with the environment when H<mϕ, and are thus expected to decohere.