Pith. sign in

REVIEW 13 cited by

Not yet reviewed by Pith; the record is open.

This paper has not been read by Pith yet. Machine review is queued; the pith claim, tier, and objections will appear here once it completes.

SPECIMEN: schema-true, not a live event

T0 review · schema-true

One-sentence machine reading of the paper's core claim.

pith:XXXXXXXX · record.json · timestamp

arxiv 1707.00537 v3 pith:XQSSFJHJ submitted 2017-07-03 hep-th astro-ph.COgr-qc

Quantum diffusion during inflation and primordial black holes

classification hep-th astro-ph.COgr-qc
keywords quantumdiffusionfunctionblackcalculateequationholesinflation
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal T4 reserved
0 comments
read the original abstract

We calculate the full probability density function (PDF) of inflationary curvature perturbations, even in the presence of large quantum backreaction. Making use of the stochastic-$\delta N$ formalism, two complementary methods are developed, one based on solving an ordinary differential equation for the characteristic function of the PDF, and the other based on solving a heat equation for the PDF directly. In the classical limit where quantum diffusion is small, we develop an expansion scheme that not only recovers the standard Gaussian PDF at leading order, but also allows us to calculate the first non-Gaussian corrections to the usual result. In the opposite limit where quantum diffusion is large, we find that the PDF is given by an elliptic theta function, which is fully characterised by the ratio between the squared width and height (in Planck mass units) of the region where stochastic effects dominate. We then apply these results to the calculation of the mass fraction of primordial black holes from inflation, and show that no more than $\sim 1$ $e$-fold can be spent in regions of the potential dominated by quantum diffusion. We explain how this requirement constrains inflationary potentials with two examples.

discussion (0)

Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.

Forward citations

Cited by 13 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score.

  1. Compaction function in stochastic inflation: a \texttt{FOREST} of type I and II primordial black holes

    astro-ph.CO 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    Stochastic binary tree method computes compaction function in inflation to distinguish type I/II PBH fluctuations, finding broader mass distributions and type-II dominance in quantum regimes of a toy model.

  2. Are Primordial Black Holes a Natural Dark Matter Candidate?

    hep-ph 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    PBH dark matter spans all naturalness tiers, with some mechanisms as natural as WIMPs or freeze-in particles, determined by abundance map structure rather than candidate type.

  3. Time-reversed stochastic inflation in the quantum well

    astro-ph.CO 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    Exact solution of time-reversed stochastic inflation in the quantum well yields curvature perturbation distributions with faster-decaying exponential tails than forward stochastic inflation.

  4. Stochastic inflation as an open quantum system II: open effective field theory and stochastic matching

    hep-th 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    Constructs open EFT for stochastic inflation with stochastic RG channel, nonlocal Wilson kernels, and derived master equations matched to full theory via method-of-regions.

  5. Gravitational Waves from Black Hole Reheating: The Scalar-Induced Component

    hep-ph 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    Accounting for the minimal mass spread of primordial black holes from gravitational collapse suppresses the Poltergeist GW background to the level of generic scalar-induced signals and reopens ultra-light PBH parameter space.

  6. A consistent formulation of stochastic inflation I: Non-Markovian effects and issues beyond linear perturbations

    astro-ph.CO 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    The conventional truncation in stochastic inflation is inconsistent because quadratic-noise contributions are the same perturbative order as the deterministic non-Markovian corrections.

  7. When the Environment Speaks: Quantum Signatures in Non-Attractor Inflation

    astro-ph.CO 2026-07 conditional novelty 6.0

    An open quantum system treatment of curvature perturbations during Ultra-Slow-Roll inflation shows that environmental decoherence erases the interference dip, modifies the growth slope, and induces oscillatory feature...

  8. Stochastic constant-roll inflation beyond the hilltop with the spectral method

    astro-ph.CO 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 6.0

    Spectral solution of the Fokker-Planck operator for hilltop constant-roll inflation shows rare crossing trajectories dominate the mean, so the median yields a coarse-grained ΔN distribution whose exponential tail flat...

  9. Stochastic inflation as an open quantum system II: open effective field theory and stochastic matching

    hep-th 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 6.0

    Develops open EFT for stochastic inflation with a distinct stochastic RG channel, derives nonlocal master equations including Fokker-Planck and Klein-Kramers forms, and demonstrates stochastic renormalization with an ...

  10. Multifield stochastic inflation: Relevance of number of fields in statistical moments

    astro-ph.CO 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 6.0

    Stochastic effects in multifield inflation make the number of fields relevant for e-fold statistics and power spectrum, with a general formula for higher moments and an upper bound on fields for successful inflation.

  11. Nonperturbative stochastic inflation in perturbative dynamical background

    astro-ph.CO 2026-04 unverdicted novelty 6.0

    Derives stochastic equations from Schwinger-Keldysh formalism that include quantum diffusion and classical metric perturbations for non-perturbative ultra-slow-roll inflation, validated on Starobinsky and critical Hig...

  12. Constraints on Primordial Black Holes

    astro-ph.CO 2020-02 accept novelty 4.0

    Updated compilation shows PBHs are tightly constrained across 55 orders of magnitude in mass, ruling out dominant dark matter contributions except in narrow windows, with many limits carrying observational uncertainties.

  13. Primordial Black Holes as Dark Matter: Recent Developments

    astro-ph.CO 2020-06 unverdicted novelty 3.0

    Primordial black holes in specific mass ranges could account for some or all dark matter while resolving structure-formation and seed problems in standard cosmology.