Loop quantum cosmology: The horizon problem and the probability of inflation

Abstract

Anomaly-free perturbations of loop quantum cosmology reveal a deformed space-time structure, in which the signature changes when the energy density is $ρ=ρ_c/2$. Furthermore, in loop quantum cosmology, one can obtain an effective causal structure only for a low density region ($ρ\leqρ_c/2$), which gives a natural initial condition to consider the horizon problem. Choosing the initial value at $ρ(0)=ρ_c/2$ in this paper, we investigate the horizon problem and the probability of inflation in the framework of loop quantum cosmology. Two models are considered: the quadratic inflation and the natural inflation. We use the Liouville measure to calculate the probability of inflation which solves the horizon problem, and find that, for the quadratic inflation model, the probability is very close to unity, while for the natural inflation model, the probability is about $35\$.

8 pages, 2 figure, 2 tables, final published version