Discussions about the landscape of possibilities for treatments of cosmic inflation involving continuous spontaneous localization models

Gabriel R Bengochea,Daniel Sudarsky,Gabriel León,Philip Pearle

doi:10.1140/epjc/s10052-020-08599-z

Abstract

In this work we consider a wide variety of alternatives opened when applying the continuous spontaneous localization (CSL) dynamical collapse theory to the inflationary era. The definitive resolution of many of the issues discussed here will have to await, not only for a general relativistic CSL theory, but for a fully workable theory of quantum gravity. Our concern here is to explore these issues, and to warn against premature conclusions. This exploration includes: two different approaches to deal with quantum field theory and gravitation, the identification of the collapse-generating operator and the general nature and values of the parameters of the CSL theory. All the choices connected with these issues have the potential to dramatically alter the conclusions one can draw. We also argue that the incompatibilities found in a recent paper, between the CSL parameter values and the cosmic microwave background observational data, are associated with specific choices made for the extrapolation to the cosmological context of the CSL theory (as it is known to work in non-relativistic laboratory situations) which do not represent the most natural ones.

Highlights

Various applications involving different versions of the continuous spontaneous localization (CSL) collapse theory [4,5,6] to the problem were attempted early on [7,8,9,10]
Our concern here is to explore these issues, and to warn against premature conclusions. This exploration includes: two different approaches to deal with quantum field theory and gravitation, the identification of the collapsegenerating operator and the general nature and values of the parameters of the CSL theory
We argue that the incompatibilities found in a recent paper, between the CSL parameter values and the cosmic microwave background observational data, are associated with specific choices made for the extrapolation to the cosmological context of the CSL theory which do not represent the most natural ones

Summary

Introduction

Various applications involving different versions of the continuous spontaneous localization (CSL) collapse theory [4,5,6] to the problem were attempted early on [7,8,9,10]. We will place into a broader perspective both the approach as well as some of the conclusions of [11], arguing that the analysis carried out does not represent either unique or even natural choices for the generalizations required. Such conclusions should not be considered as broadly reliable, as they rely on a large set of both explicit and implicit assumptions, which might be considered as questionable for several reasons that will be discussed below.

Gravitation and quantum field theory

Collapse-generating operator

The parameters

Conclusions