Stochastic inflation as an open quantum system

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2507.02070v1
• Date: Wed, 02 Jul 2025 18:12:34 GMT
• Title: Stochastic inflation as an open quantum system
• Authors: Yue-Zhou Li,
• Abstract summary: We reinterpret Starobinsky's inflation as an open quantum system, where short-wavelength modes act as the environment for long-wavelength modes.<n>We derive an effective theory for the reduced density matrix, including deviations from exact de Sitter.<n>We extend the formalism to global de Sitter, for which the associated Fokker-Planck equation lacks equilibrium solutions.
• Score: 1.3622273884664862
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: We reinterpret Starobinsky's stochastic inflation as an open quantum system, where short-wavelength modes act as the environment for long-wavelength modes. Using the Schwinger-Keldysh formalism, we systematically trace out the environment and derive an effective theory for the reduced density matrix, including deviations from exact de Sitter. The resulting master equation is a Lindblad equation, which reduces to a Fokker-Planck equation for the diagonal elements up to higher orders in the slow-roll expansion, while also yielding a more complete equation in phase space. Finally, we extend the formalism to global de Sitter, for which the associated Fokker-Planck equation lacks equilibrium solutions until the late-time regime $aH \gg 1$.

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