Mainz 2014 – scientific programme

Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help

T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 111: Theoretische Astroteilchenphysik und Kosmologie

T 111.2: Talk

Thursday, March 27, 2014, 17:00–17:15, P101

Ekpyrotic Perturbations With Small Non-Gaussian Corrections — •Angelika Fertig, Jean-Luc Lehners, and Enno Mallwitz — Max-Planck-Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert-Einstein-Institute), 14476 Potsdam, Germany

A new variant of the entropic mechanism for producing nearly scale-invariant density perturbations in a contracting ekpyrotic universe is presented. Instead of an unstable scalar potential which is required in the standard entropic mechanism, there exists a non-trivial coupling between adiabatic and entropic fields. In the talk it will be shown how this leads to exactly Gaussian entropy perturbations which are then converted into nearly-Gaussian curvature perturbations. The only distinguishing feature compared to single-field slow-roll inflationary models is an absence of primordial gravitational waves. Thus the present model provides a perfect match to current data from the PLANCK satellite.