Lattice calculation of non-gaussian density perturbations from the massless preheating inflationary model

If light scalar fields are present at the end of inflation, their nonequilibrium dynamics such as parametric resonance or a phase transition can produce non-Gaussian density perturbations. We show how these perturbations can be calculated using nonlinear lattice field theory simulations and the separate universe approximation. In the massless preheating model, we find that some parameter values are excluded while others lead to acceptable but observable levels of non-Gaussianity. This shows that preheating can be an important factor in assessing the viability of inflationary models.     

Inflation with multiple sound speeds: A model of multiple DBI type actions and non-Gaussianities

In this Letter we study adiabatic and isocurvature perturbations in the frame of inflation with multiple sound speeds involved. We suggest this scenario can be realized by a number of generalized scalar fields with arbitrary kinetic forms. These scalars have their own sound speeds respectively, so the propagations of field fluctuations are individual. Specifically, we study a model constructed by two DBI type actions. We find that the critical length scale for the freezing of perturbations corresponds to the maximum sound horizon. Moreover, if the mass term of one field is much lighter than that of the other, the entropy perturbation could be quite large and so may give rise to a growth outside sound horizon. At cubic order, we find that the non-Gaussianity of local type is possibly large when entropy perturbations are able to convert into curvature perturbations. We also calculate the non-Gaussianity of equilateral type approximately.     

21-cm background anisotropies can discern primordial non-Gaussianity

The non-Gaussianity of initial perturbations provides information on the mechanism that generated primordial density fluctuations. We find that 21-cm background anisotropies due to inhomogeneous neutral hydrogen distribution prior to reionization captures information on primordial non-Gaussianity better than a high-resolution cosmic microwave background anisotropy map. An all-sky 21-cm experiment over the frequency range from 14 to 40 MHz with angular information out to a multipole of 10(5) can limit the primordial non-Gaussianity parameter f(NL) <, similar 0.01.     

Gauge-invariant temperature anisotropies and primordial non-Gaussianity

We provide the gauge-invariant expression for large-scale cosmic microwave background temperature fluctuations at second-order perturbation theory. This enables us to define unambiguously the nonlinearity parameter f(NL), which is used by experimental collaborations to pin down the level of non-Gaussianity in the temperature fluctuations. Furthermore, it contains a primordial term encoding all the information about the non-Gaussianity generated at primordial epochs and about the mechanism which gave rise to cosmological perturbations, thus neatly disentangling the primordial contribution to non-Gaussianity from the one caused by the postinflationary evolution.     

Non-Gaussianities in New Ekpyrotic Cosmology

The new ekpyrotic model is an alternative scenario of the early Universe which relies on a phase of slow contraction before the big bang. We calculate the 3-point and 4-point correlation functions of primordial density perturbations and find a generically large non-Gaussian signal, just below the current sensitivity level of cosmic microwave background experiments. This is in contrast with slow-roll inflation, which predicts negligible non-Gaussianity. The model is also distinguishable from alternative inflationary scenarios that can yield large non-Gaussianity, such as Dirac-Born-Infeld inflation and the simplest curvatonlike models, through the shape dependence of the correlation functions. Non-Gaussianity therefore provides a distinguishing and testable prediction of New Ekpyrotic Cosmology.     

Alternative non-Gaussianity measures for quantum states based on quantum fidelity

We propose three alternative measures for non-Gaussianity of quantum states: sine distance, Bures angle, and Bures distance, which are based on quantum fidelity introduced by Wang [Phys. Lett. A 373 58 (2008)]. Using them, we evaluate the non-Gaussianity of some relevant single-mode and two-mode non-Gaussian states and find a good consistency of the three examined measures. In addition, we show that such metrics can exactly quantify the degree of Gaussianity of even Schrödinger-cat-like states of small amplitudes that can not be measured by other known non-Gaussianity measures such as the Hilbert—Schmidt metric and the relative entropy metric. We make a comparative study between all existing non-Gaussianity measures according to the metric axioms and point out that the sine distance is the best candidate among them.     

Primordial non-Gaussianity from the 21 cm power spectrum during the epoch of reionization

Primordial non-Gaussianity is a crucial test of inflationary cosmology. We consider the impact of non-Gaussianity on the ionization power spectrum from 21 cm emission at the epoch of reionization. We focus on the power spectrum on large scales at redshifts of 7 to 8 and explore the expected constraint on the local non-Gaussianity parameter f(NL) for current and next-generation 21 cm experiments. We show that experiments such as SKA and MWA could measure f(NL) values of order 10. This can be improved by an order of magnitude with a fast-Fourier transform telescope like Omniscope.     

Estimating Non-Gaussianity of a Quantum State by Measuring Orthogonal Quadratures

We derive the lower bounds for a non-Gaussianity measure based on quantum relative entropy (QRE). Our approach draws on the observation that the QRE-based non-Gaussianity measure of a single-mode quantum state is lower bounded by a function of the negentropies for quadrature distributions with maximum and minimum variances. We demonstrate that the lower bound can outperform the previously proposed bound by the negentropy of a quadrature distribution. Furthermore, we extend our method to establish lower bounds for the QRE-based non-Gaussianity measure of a multimode quantum state that can be measured by homodyne detection, with or without leveraging a Gaussian unitary operation. Finally, we explore how our lower bound finds application in non-Gaussian entanglement detection.     

Curvaton scenario within the minimal supersymmetric standard model and predictions for non-Gaussianity

We provide a model in which both the inflaton and the curvaton are obtained from within the minimal supersymmetric standard model, with known gauge and Yukawa interactions. Since now both the inflaton and curvaton fields are successfully embedded within the same sector, their decay products thermalize very quickly before the electroweak scale. This results in two important features of the model: first, there will be no residual isocurvature perturbations, and second, observable non-Gaussianities can be generated with the non-Gaussianity parameter f(NL)~O(5-1000) being determined solely by the combination of weak-scale physics and the standard model Yukawa interactions.     

Large non-gaussianity in axion inflation

The inflationary paradigm has enjoyed phenomenological success; however, a compelling particle physics realization is still lacking. Axions are among the best-motivated inflaton candidates, since the flatness of their potential is naturally protected by a shift symmetry. We reconsider the cosmological perturbations in axion inflation, consistently accounting for the coupling to gauge fields cΦFF, which is generically present in these models. This coupling leads to production of gauge quanta, which provide a new source of inflaton fluctuations, δΦ. For c≥10(2)M(p)(-1), these dominate over the vacuum fluctuations, and non-Gaussianity exceeds the current observational bound. This regime is typical for concrete realizations that admit a UV completion; hence, large non-Gaussianity is easily obtained in minimal and natural realizations of inflation.     

Geometrical Detection of Weak Non-Gaussianity upon Coarse-Graining

Measures of the non-Gaussianity of a random field depend on how accurately one is able to measure the field. If a signal measured at a certain point is to be averaged with its surroundings, or coarse-grained, the magnitude of its non-Gaussian component can vary. In this article, we investigate the variation of the “apparent” non-Gaussianity, as a function of the coarse-graining length, when we measure non-Gaussianity using the statistics of extrema in the field. We derive how the relative difference between maxima and minima—which is a geometrical measure of the field’s non-Gaussianity—behaves as the field is coarse-grained over increasingly larger length scales. Measuring this function can give extra information about the non-Gaussian statistics and facilitate its detection.     

Dynamic heterogeneity of relaxations in glasses and liquids

We report an investigation of the heterogeneity in supercooled liquids and glasses using the non-Gaussianity parameter. We simulate selenium and a binary Lennard-Jones system by molecular dynamics. In the non-Gaussianity three time domains can be distinguished: an increase on the ps scale due to the vibrational (ballistic) motion of the atoms, followed by a growth, due to local relaxations ( beta relaxation) at not too high temperatures, and finally a slow drop at long times. The non-Gaussianity follows in the intermediate time domain a sqrt[t] law. This is explained by collective hopping and dynamic heterogeneity. We support this finding by a model calculation.     

Non-Gaussianity dynamics of two-mode squeezed number states subject to different types of noise based on cumulant theory

We provide a measure to characterize the non-Gaussianity of phase-space function of bosonic quantum states based on the cumulant theory. We study the non-Gaussianity dynamics of two-mode squeezed number states by analyzing the phase-averaged kurtosis for two different models of decoherence: amplitude damping model and phase damping model.For the amplitude damping model, the non-Gaussianity is very fragile and completely vanishes at a finite time. For the phase damping model, such states exhibit rich non-Gaussian characters. In particular, we obtain a transition time that such states can transform from sub-Gaussianity into super-Gaussianity during the evolution. Finally, we compare our measure with the existing measures of non-Gaussianity under the independent dephasing environment.     

利用累积量理论量化双模压缩贝尔态的非高斯特性

根据相空间函数的累积量理论,提出了玻色量子态非高斯性的量化工具.利用该量具研究了四个压缩贝尔纠缠态的非高斯特性.结果表明:高斯操作能显著的改变这些态的非高斯特性.此外,也研究了这些量子态二阶关联函数的四阶累积量.     

Non-Gaussianity in axion N-flation models

We study perturbations in the multifield axion N-flation model, taking account of the full cosine potential. We find significant differences from previous analyses which made a quadratic approximation to the potential. The tensor-to-scalar ratio and the scalar spectral index move to lower values, which nevertheless provide an acceptable fit to observation. Most significantly, we find that the bispectrum non-Gaussianity parameter f{NL} may be large, typically of order 10 for moderate values of the axion decay constant, increasing to of order 100 for decay constants slightly smaller than the Planck scale. Such a non-Gaussian fraction is detectable. We argue that this property is generic in multifield models of hilltop inflation.     

Inflationary prediction for primordial non-gaussianity

We extend the deltaN formalism so that it gives all of the stochastic properties of the primordial curvature perturbation zeta if the initial field perturbations are Gaussian. The calculation requires only the knowledge of some family of unperturbed universes. A formula is given for the normalization f(NL) of the bispectrum of zeta, which is the main signal of non-Gaussianity. Examples of the use of the formula are given, and its relation to cosmological perturbation theory is explained.     

贝叶斯频率估计中频率的先验分布对有色噪声作用的影响

在贝叶斯参数估计理论框架下,研究了被测参数的先验分布对有色噪声的抑制作用.选择一个受1/f~α型谱密度有色噪声影响的自旋1/2量子比特作为量子探测系统来估计一个磁场强度的大小,利用贝叶斯代价函数的动力学演化来评判估计的精度,重点研究先验概率分布对噪声非高斯性的限制作用.研究发现:当先验概率的不确定度比较大时,有色噪声的非高斯性对频率估计精度的影响比较小;当先验概率的不确定度比较小时,有色噪声的非高斯性对频率估计精度的影响比较大.     

Thermal fluctuations in viscous cosmology

In this Letter we investigate the power spectrum of thermal fluctuations in very early stage of viscous cosmology. When the state parameter as well as the viscous coefficient of a barotropic fluid is properly chosen, a scale invariant spectrum with large non-Gaussianity can be obtained. In contrast to the results previously obtained in string gas cosmology and holographic cosmology, we find the non-Gaussianity in this context can be k-independent such that it is not suppressed at large scale, which is expected to be testified in future observation.     

Coupled Criticality Analysis of Inflation and Unemployment

In this paper, we focus on the critical periods in the economy that are characterized by unusual and large fluctuations in macroeconomic indicators, like those measuring inflation and unemployment. We analyze U.S. data for 70 years from 1948 until 2018. To capture their fluctuation essence, we concentrate on the non-Gaussianity of their distributions. We investigate how the non-Gaussianity of these variables affects the coupling structure of them. We distinguish “regular” from “rare” events, in calculating the correlation coefficient, emphasizing that both cases might lead to a different response of the economy. Through the “multifractal random wall” model, one can see that the non-Gaussianity depends on time scales. The non-Gaussianity of unemployment is noticeable only for periods shorter than one year; for longer periods, the fluctuation distribution tends to a Gaussian behavior. In contrast, the non-Gaussianities of inflation fluctuations persist for all time scales. We observe through the “bivariate multifractal random walk” that despite the inflation features, the non-Gaussianity of the coupled structure is finite for scales less than one year, drops for periods larger than one year, and becomes small for scales greater than two years. This means that the footprint of the monetary policies intentionally influencing the inflation and unemployment couple is observed only for time horizons smaller than two years. Finally, to improve some understanding of the effect of rare events, we calculate high moments of the variables’ increments for various q orders and various time scales. The results show that coupling with high moments sharply increases during crises.     

Comparison between photon annihilation-then-creation and photon creation-then-annihilation thermal states:Non-classical and non-Gaussian properties

We investigate the nonclassical properties of arbitrary number photon annihilation-then-creation operation(AC) and creation-then-annihilation operation(CA) to the thermal state(TS), whose normalization factors are related to the polylogarithm function. Then we compare their quantum characters, such as photon number distribution, average photon number,Mandel Q-parameter, purity and the Wigner function. Because of the noncommutativity between the annihilation operator and the creation operator, the ACTS and the CATS have different nonclassical properties. It is found that nonclassical properties are exhibited more strongly after AC than after CA. In addition we also examine their non-Gaussianity. The result shows that the ACTS can present a slightly bigger non-Gaussianity than the CATS.