- Accepted Paper
Quantum-cosmological corrections to inflationary spectra from Gaussian wave packets
Phys. Rev. D - Accepted 28 October, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/phpy-tnvg
Phys. Rev. D - Accepted 28 October, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/phpy-tnvg
In the context of quantum cosmology, we study quantum entanglement in solutions of the Wheeler–DeWitt equation for a homogeneous inflaton–gravity system coupled to perturbations. The homogeneous degrees of freedom are described by a superposition of Wheeler–DeWitt solutions associated with a Gaussian wave packet, which is entangled with the quantum state of the perturbations and this may lead to potentially observable effects on the inflationary spectra. The expectation value of the resulting state closely follows the classical homogeneous inflaton trajectory. We then restrict our analysis to two simplified models that admit a future de Sitter attractor, while neglecting non-adiabatic effects and contributions of order in the Mukhanov–Sasaki equation. Analytical expressions for the resulting spectra are obtained by marginalising over the homogeneous inflaton variable and can be evaluated in regimes where reliable approximations are available. Small deviations from the standard semiclassical spectra are indeed generated, and these are significantly larger than the quantum-gravitational corrections usually considered in this context.
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