Document Type
Poster
Publication Date
Summer 2023
Abstract
Cosmic inflation caused the very early universe to expand rapidly. When it ended, its energy decayed into the particles and radiation we see today. The details of this process, named reheating, is an open question. We will study one proposed model: Kinetic Reheating. In this project, we model an inflaton field indirectly coupled to matter fields and study how that coupling produces particles. We also calculate the gravitational wave background produced by these fluctuations interacting with the matter produced to create amplified patterns. We use a modified version of the computer software GABE (Grid And Bubble Evolver) to numerically solve the equations that describe kinetic reheating and produce simulated universes whose dynamics satisfy these equations. By studying the manner in which the simulations evolved and their gravitational wave fingerprint, we offer the cosmological community another possibility for the mechanics of our universe’s evolution.
Recommended Citation
Pfaltzgraff-Carlson, Reid D. and Giblin, Tom, "Modeling the Universe with Kinetic Reheating" (2023). Kenyon Summer Science Scholars Program. Paper 646.
https://digital.kenyon.edu/summerscienceprogram/646
Rights Statement
