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arXiv:0805.1471 · Physical review. D. Particles, fields, gravitation, and cosmology/Physical review. D. Particles and fields

Entanglement of quantum fluctuations in the inflationary universe

Yasusada Nambu

Published Aug 12, 2008• 42 citations
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Abstract

We investigate quantum entanglement of a scalar field in the inflationary universe. By introducing a bipartite system using a lattice model of scalar field, we apply the separability criterion based on the partial transpose operation and numerically calculate the bipartite entanglement between separate spatial regions. We find that the initial entangled state becomes separable or disentangled when the size of the spatial regions exceed the Hubble horizon. This is a necessary condition for the appearance of classicality of the quantum fluctuation. We further investigate the condition for the appearance of the classical distribution function and find that the condition is given by the inequality for the symplectic eigenvalue of the covariance matrix of the scalar field.

DOI
10.1103/physrevd.78.044023

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We investigate quantum entanglement of a scalar field in the inflationary universe. By introducing a bipartite system using a lattice model of scalar field, we apply the separability criterion based on the partial transpose operation and numerically calculate the bipartite entanglement between separate spatial regions. We find that the initial entangled state becomes separable or disentangled when the size of the spatial regions exceed the Hubble horizon. This is a necessary condition for the appearance of classicality of the quantum fluctuation. We further investigate the condition for the appearance of the classical distribution function and find that the condition is given by the inequality for the symplectic eigenvalue of the covariance matrix of the scalar field.
We investigate entanglement of local spatial modes defined by a quantum field in a de Sitter universe. The introduced modes show disentanglement behavior when the separation between two regions where local modes are assigned becomes larger than the cosmological horizon. To understand the emergence of separability between these local modes, we apply the monogamy inequality proposed by S. Camalet. We embed the focusing bipartite mode defined by the quantum field in a pure four-mode Gaussian state, and identify its partner modes. Then applying a Gaussian version of the monogamy relation, we show that the external entanglement between the bipartite mode and its partner modes constrains the entanglement of the bipartite mode. Thus the emergence of separability of local modes in the de Sitter universe can be understood from the perspective of entanglement monogamy.
Primordial fluctuations in inflationary cosmology acquire classical properties through decoherence when their wavelengths become larger than the Hubble scale. Although decoherence is effective, it is not complete, so a significant part of primordial correlations remains up to the present moment. We address the issue of the pointer states which provide a classical basis for the fluctuations with respect to the influence by an environment (other fields). Applying methods from the quantum theory of open systems (the Lindblad equation), we show that this basis is given by narrow Gaussians that approximate eigenstates of field amplitudes. We calculate both the von Neumann and linear entropy of the fluctuations. Their ratio to the maximal entropy per field mode defines a degree of partial decoherence in the entropy sense. We also determine the time of partial decoherence making the Wigner function positive everywhere which, for super-Hubble modes during inflation, is virtually independent of coupling to the environment and is only slightly larger than the Hubble time. On the other hand, assuming a representative environment (a photon bath), the decoherence time for sub-Hubble modes is finite only if some real dissipation exists.
Primordial fluctuations in inflationary cosmology acquire classical properties through decoherence when their wavelengths become larger than the Hubble scale. Although decoherence is effective, it is not complete, so a significant part of primordial correlations remains up to the present moment. We address the issue of the pointer states which provide a classical basis for the fluctuations with respect to the influence by an environment (other fields). Applying methods from the quantum theory of open systems (the Lindblad equation), we show that this basis is given by narrow Gaussians that approximate eigenstates of field amplitudes. We calculate both the von Neumann and linear entropy of the fluctuations. Their ratio to the maximal entropy per field mode defines a degree of partial decoherence in the entropy sense. We also determine the time of partial decoherence making the Wigner function positive everywhere which, for super-Hubble modes during inflation, is virtually independent of coupling to the environment and is only slightly larger than the Hubble time. On the other hand, assuming a representative environment (a photon bath), the decoherence time for sub-Hubble modes is finite only if some real dissipation exists.
We explore the effect of two-dimensional position-space noncommutativity on the bipartite entanglement of continuous-variable systems. We first extend the standard symplectic framework for studying entanglement of Gaussian states of commutative systems to the case of noncommutative systems residing in two dimensions. Using the positive partial transpose criterion for separability of bipartite states, we derive a condition on the separability of a noncommutative system that is dependent on the noncommutative parameter $\ensuremath{\theta}$. We then consider the specific example of a bipartite Gaussian state and show the quantitative reduction in entanglement originating from noncommutative dynamics. We show that such a reduction in entanglement for a noncommutative system arising from the modification of the variances of the phase-space variables (uncertainty relations) is clearly manifested between two particles that are separated by small distances.
In the expanding universe, two interacting fields are no longer in thermal contact when the interaction rate becomes smaller than the Hubble expansion rate. After decoupling, two subsystems are usually treated separately in accordance with equilibrium thermodynamics and the thermodynamic entropy gives a fiducial quantity conserved in each subsystem. In this paper, we discuss a correction to this paradigm from quantum entanglement of two coupled fields. The thermodynamic entropy is generalized to the entanglement entropy. We formulate a perturbation theory to derive the entanglement entropy and present Feynman rules in diagrammatic calculations. For specific models to illustrate our formulation, an interacting scalar-scalar system, quantum electrodynamics, and the Yukawa theory are considered. We calculate the entanglement entropy in these models and find a quantum correction to the thermodynamic entropy. The correction is revealed to be important in circumstances of instantaneous decoupling.