1st Edition

Particle Physics and Inflationary Cosmology

By Andrei Linde Copyright 1990
    380 Pages
    by CRC Press

    380 Pages
    by CRC Press

    A monograph on inflationary cosmology and cosmological phase transitions, investigating modern cosmology's relationship to elementary particle physics. This work also includes a non-technical discussion of inflationary cosmology for those unfamiliar with the theory.

    Preface to the Series

    Introduction

    Overview of Unified Theories of Elementary Particles and the Inflationary Universe Scenario

    The scalar field and spontaneous symmetry breaking

    Phase transitions in gauge theories

    Hot universe theory

    Some properties of the Friedmann models

    Problems of the standard scenario

    A sketch of the development of the inflationary universe scenario

    The chaotic inflation scenario

    The self-regenerating universe

    Summary

    Scalar Field, Effective Potential, and Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking

    Classical and quantum scalar fields

    Quantum corrections to the effective potential V( II' )

    The liN expansion and the effective potential of the AIP/N theory

    The effective potential and quantum gravitational effects

    Restoration of Symmetry at High Temperature

    Phase transitions in the simplest models with spontaneous symmetry breaking

    Phase transitions in realistic theories of the weak, strong, and electromagnetic interactions

    Higher-order perturbation theory and the infrared problem in the thermodynamics of gauge fields

    Phase Transitions in Cold Superdense Matter

    Restoration of symmetry in theories with no neutral currents

    Enhancement of symmetry breaking and the condensation of vector mesons in theories with neutral currents

    Tunneling Theory and the Decay of a Metastable Phase in a First-Order Phase Transition

    General theory of the formation of bubbles of a new phase

    The thin-wall approximation

    Beyond the thin-wall approximation

    Phase Transitions in a Hot Universe

    Phase transitions with symmetry breaking between the weak, strong, and electromagnetic interactions

    Domain walls, strings, and monopoles

    General Principles of Inflationary Cosmology

    Introduction

    The inflationary universe and de Sitter space

    Quantum fluctuations in the inflationary universe

    Tunneling in the inflationary universe

    Quantum fluctuations and the generation of adiabatic density perturbations

    Are scale-free adiabatic perturbations sufficient to produce the observed largescale structure of the niverse?

    Isothermal perturbations and adiabatic perturbations with a nonflat spectrum

    Nonperturbative effects: strings, hedgehogs, walls, bubbles, . . .

    Reheating of the universe after inflation

    The origin of the baryon asymmetry of the universe

    The New Inflationary Universe Scenario

    Introduction. The old inflationary universe scenario

    The Coleman-Weinberg SU() theory and the new inflationary universe scenario (initial simplified version)

    Refinement of the new inflationary universe scenario

    Primordial inflation in N = 1ยท supergravity

    The Shafi-Vilenkin model

    The new inflationary universe scenario: problems and prospects

    The Chaotic Inflation Scenario

    Introduction. Basic features of the scenario. The question of initial conditions

    The simplest model based on the SU(5) theory

    Chaotic inflation in supergravity

    The modified Starobinsky model and the combined scenario

    Inflation in Kaluza-Klein and superstring theories

    Inflation and Quantum Cosmology

    The wave function of the universe

    Quantum cosmology and the global structure of the inflationary universe

    The self-regenerating inflationary universe and quantum cosmology

    The global structure of the inflationary universe and the problem of the general cosmological singularity

    Inflation and the Anthropic Principle

    Quantum cosmology and the signature of space-time

    The cosmological constant, the Anthropic Principle, reduplication of the universe and life after inflation

    CONCLUSION

    REFERENCES

    SUBJECT INDEX

    Biography

    Andrei Linde