On memory in exponentially expanding spaces

• Main Authors: Stanford, Douglas (Author), Roberts, Daniel Adam (Contributor)
• Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Theoretical Physics (Contributor), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Springer-Verlag, 2014-04-17T16:22:48Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

Author's final manuscript: May 28, 2013
We examine the degree to which fluctuating dynamics on exponentially expanding spaces remember initial conditions. In de Sitter space, the global late-time configuration of a free scalar field always contains information about early fluctuations. By contrast, fluctuations near the boundary of Euclidean Anti-de Sitter may or may not remember conditions in the center, with a transition at Δ = d/2. We connect these results to literature about statistical mechanics on trees and make contact with the observation by Anninos and Denef that the configuration space of a massless dS field exhibits ultrametricity. We extend their analysis to massive fields, finding that preference for isosceles triangles persists as long as Δ− < d/4.
American Society for Engineering Education. National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship
Hertz Foundation
United States. Dept. of Energy (Contract DE-FG02-05ER41360)