Thermodynamics of decaying vacuum cosmologies

Decaying Dark Energy in Light of the Latest Cosmological Dataset

Decaying Dark Energy models modify the background evolution of the most common observables, such as the Hubble function, the luminosity distance and the Cosmic Microwave Background temperature–redshift scaling relation. We use the most recent observationally-determined datasets, including Supernovae Type Ia and Gamma Ray Bursts data, along with H ( z ) and Cosmic Microwave Background temperature versus z data and the reduced Cosmic Microwave Background parameters, to improve the previous constraints on these models. We perform a Monte Carlo Markov Chain analysis to constrain the parameter space, on the basis of two distinct methods. In view of the first method, the Hubble constant and the matter density are left to vary freely. In this case, our results are compatible with previous analyses associated with decaying Dark Energy models, as well as with the most recent description of the cosmological background. In view of the second method, we set the Hubble constant and the matter density to their best fit values obtained by the Planck satellite, reducing the parameter space to two dimensions, and improving the existent constraints on the model’s parameters. Our results suggest that the accelerated expansion of the Universe is well described by the cosmological constant, and we argue that forthcoming observations will play a determinant role to constrain/rule out decaying Dark Energy.

Horizon feedback inflation

We consider the effect of the Gibbons-Hawking radiation on the inflaton in the situation where it is coupled to a large number of spectator fields. We argue that this will lead to two important effects - a thermal contribution to the potential and a gradual change in parameters in the Lagrangian which results from thermodynamic and energy conservation arguments. We present a scenario of hilltop inflation where the field starts trapped at the origin before slowly experiencing a phase transition during which the field extremely slowly moves towards its zero temperature expectation value. We show that it is possible to obtain enough e-folds of expansion as well as the correct spectrum of perturbations without hugely fine-tuned parameters in the potential (albeit with many spectator fields). We also comment on how initial conditions for inflation can arise naturally in this situation.