Inflationary entanglement

Abstract

We investigate the entanglement due to geometric corrections in particle creation during inflation. To do so, we propose a single-field inflationary scenario, nonminimally coupled to the scalar curvature of spacetime. We require particle production to be purely geometric, setting to zero the Bogolubov coefficients and computing the $S$ matrix associated to spacetime perturbations, which are traced back to inflaton fluctuations. The corresponding particle density leads to a nonzero entanglement entropy whose effects are investigated at primordial time of Universe evolution. The possibility of modeling our particle candidate in terms of dark matter is discussed. The classical back-reaction of inhomogeneities on the homogeneous dynamical background degrees of freedom is also studied and quantified in the slow-roll regime.