Cosmological perturbations and quantum fields in curved space

Abstract

We identify the quantum theory of cosmological perturbations with the quantum field theory in curved spacetime with emphasis on its field concept. We materialize this idea by using a coherent state as a quantum analogue of a nontrivial classical field configuration. We present analytic results in a de Sitter universe for the massless and massive minimal free scalar fields. Some new features on the spectrum of perturbations are obtained for the massive case. We also show how such quantum field theories can be derived from quantum gravity using the semiclassical approximation. A physical degree of freedom is picked up from three scalar perturbations in the quantum gravity scalar system and its Schrödinger equation is derived. Peculiar features of quantum fields at imaginary time and its possible implications on boundary conditions for the wave function of the universe are also discussed.