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Inflation, phase transitions and the cosmological constant

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Abstract

Cosmological phase transitions are thought to have taken place at the early Universe imprinting their properties on the observable Universe. There is strong evidence that, through the dynamics of a scalar field that lead a second order phase transition, inflation shaped the Universe accounting for the most conspicuous features of the observed Universe. It is argued that inflation has also striking implications for the vacuum energy. Considerations for subsequent second order phase transitions are also discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Física e Astronomia, Faculdade de Ciências, Centro de Física das Universidades do Minho e do Porto, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007, Porto, Portugal

    Orfeu Bertolami

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Bertolami, O. Inflation, phase transitions and the cosmological constant. Gen Relativ Gravit 53, 106 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10714-021-02877-1

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