Quantum cosmological consistency condition for inflation

Abstract

We investigate the quantum cosmological tunneling scenario for inflationary models. Within a path-integral approach, we derive the corresponding tunneling probability distribution. A sharp peak in this distribution can be interpreted as the initial condition for inflation and therefore as a quantum cosmological prediction for its energy scale. This energy scale is also a genuine prediction of any inflationary model by itself, as the primordial gravitons generated during inflation leave their imprint in the B-polarization of the cosmic microwave background. In this way, one can derive a consistency condition for inflationary models that guarantees compatibility with a tunneling origin and can lead to a testable quantum cosmological prediction. The general method is demonstrated explicitly for the model of natural inflation.