A smooth exit from eternal inflation? (original) (raw)

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Abstract

The usual theory of inflation breaks down in eternal inflation. We derive a dual description of eternal inflation in terms of a deformed Euclidean CFT located at the threshold of eternal inflation. The partition function gives the amplitude of different geometries of the threshold surface in the no-boundary state. Its local and global behavior in dual toy models shows that the amplitude is low for surfaces which are not nearly conformal to the round three-sphere and essentially zero for surfaces with negative curvature. Based on this we conjecture that the exit from eternal inflation does not produce an infinite fractal-like multiverse, but is finite and reasonably smooth.

Publication:

Journal of High Energy Physics

Pub Date:

April 2018

DOI:

10.1007/JHEP04(2018)147

10.48550/arXiv.1707.07702

arXiv:

arXiv:1707.07702

Bibcode:

2018JHEP...04..147H

Keywords:

E-Print:

15 pages