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Inflation and Quantum Gravity
ProbabilitySpeaker: | Stephon Alexander, Stanford |
Location: | 693 Kerr |
Start time: | Tue, Nov 18 2003, 3:10PM |
We find in the context of Loop Quantum Gravity an exact quantum state corresponding to inflating spacetimes. This state is connected to the Kodama State, the proposed ground state of Quantum Gravity corresponding to a positive cosmological constant. In this realization of inflation the inflaton acts like a clock which measures the expansion rate of the universe. This wavefunction, for a wide class of potentials, exhibit an attractor behavior toward the onset of inflation, providing evidence for the chaotic inflation hypothesis by Linde.