Imprints of Short Distance Physics On Inflationary Cosmology

Abstract

We analyze the impact of certain modifications to short distance physics on the inflationary perturbation spectrum. For the specific case of power-law inflation, we find distinctive -- and possibly observable -- effects on the spectrum of density perturbations.

Figures (2)

• Figure 1: The scalar spectrum, $P^{1/2}_s(k)$ is plotted against $k$, with $\sqrt{\beta}=100$ and $p=100$, where $k=1$ corresponds to $k_{\hbox{crit}}$. The standard power law spectrum is plotted for comparison (smooth line).
• Figure 2: The top plot plots $P^{1/2}_s(k)$ against $k$ for $\sqrt{\beta}=100$ and $p=500$, and with the straight line showing the standard power-law result. The modulation of the spectrum has an amplitude of $0.4$% of the overall signal. The bottom plot shows the percentage change in the $C_l$ values (plotted against $l$) computed from this spectrum, relative to the spectrum calculated in the absence of a fundamental length.