BROWN-HET-859

June 1992

Entropy of a Classical Stochastic Field

arXiv:astro-ph/9206005v1 24 Jun 1992

and Cosmological Perturbations

∗
R. Brandenberger1), 3), V. Mukhanov2), and T. Prokopec1), 3)

1) Physics Department, Brown University

Providence, RI 02912, USA

2) Institute of Theoretical Physics, ETH Hönggerberg,

CH – 8093 Zürich, Switzerland

3)Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California

Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA

PACS numbers: 04.20.CV , 05.20.Gg , 98.80.Dr

ABSTRACT

We propose a general definition of nonequilibrium entropy of a classical stochastic field.

As an example of particular interest in cosmology we apply this definition to compute the
entropy of density perturbations in an inflationary Universe. On the scales of structures in
the Universe, the entropy of density perturbations dominates over the statistical fluctuations
of the entropy of cosmic microwave photons, indicating the relevance of the entropy of density
fluctuations for structure formation.

∗ on leave of absence from Institute for Nuclear Research, Academy of Sciences, 117312 Moscow, Russia
 1. Introduction
[1]
The concept of entropy contains relevant information about a dynamical system. In
systems with a finite number of degrees of freedom there is a natural way to define entropy,
even if the system is out of thermal equilibrium. We are interested in systems with infinitely
many degrees of freedom and which can be described by a stochastic Gaussian field. In this
letter, we propose a general definition of nonequilibrium entropy of a stochastic Gaussian
field.

An issue of considerable interest is to develop a consistent definition of entropy in general

relativity and cosmology. There have been some key results in this area. The observation that
[2]
all information about a particle crossing the Schwarzschild horizon is lost, led Bekenstein
[3] [4]
and Hawking to their famous formula for the entropy of a black hole. Penrose suggested
that it may be possible to realize the second law of thermodynamics in cosmology by assigning
an entropy to the gravitational field itself. He conjectured that the plausible definition of
entropy might be “some integral” of the Weyl tensor squared, and that the Universe starts in
a state of minimal gravitational entropy. In this picture structure formation and the second
law of thermodynamics are reconciled, since gravitational clustering leads to an increase in
the Weyl tensor, thus generating gravitational entropy. The connection between information
[5]
loss and entropy of the gravitational field was explored in many papers.

In this letter we use our definition of nonequilibrium entropy of a stochastic Gaussian

field to propose a new approach to the problem of gravitational entropy in cosmology. The
formalism is based on separating the entire system of gravitational plus matter fields into
background fields (chosen to have high space-time symmetries) and linearized fluctuating
fields; the latter are the stochastic fields we apply our general definition of entropy to.

It has been demonstrated that the dynamics of perturbations can be reduced to the
dynamics of a single scalar field (which comprises in a self-consistent manner both scalar
and/or tensor gravitational field perturbations and matter field fluctuations) in the classical
space-time background (for a recent review see Ref. [6] ). The evolution of the background
field is completely specified; this means it carries no entropy. On the other hand, the
fluctuating field carries significant entropy. This statement needs justification.

In order to obtain growth of entropy, it is necessary to propose some kind of coarse grain-
ing in which some information is lost during the evolution. In this work, we consider a free

2
scalar field in an expanding space-time background, in which there is abundant production
[7]
of perturbations by parametric amplification. We assume that there is a mechanism which
generates stochasticity in the phases of the perturbations produced during the evolution.
This mechanism is effective for the field modes within the horizon, and generates entropy in
the fluctuating field.

The letter is organized in the following way. The next section is devoted to the derivation
of the formula for the entropy of a stochastic Gaussian scalar field. Using this formula, we
then calculate (in Sec. 3.) the entropy of cosmological density perturbations. In Sec. 4. we
hint to some additional possible applications of the formula in the context of cosmology.

2. Entropy of Classical Field

We wish to consider the entropy associated with a classical stochastic field. For a given
real scalar field φ and its canonical momentum π , there is a probability distribution func-
tional P [ϕ, π] defined over an infinite dimensional space spanned by functions {ϕ, π}. The
probabilistic definition of entropy gives

Z
S=− P [ϕ, π] ln P [ϕ, π] Dϕ Dπ , (2.1)

where the probability functional P [ϕ, π] is normalized to unity. We assume a Gaussian

process, i.e. that the knowledge of two-point correlation functions suffices to completely
specify the stochastic properties of the fields ϕ and π. (Higher order correlation functions
can be then given in terms of two-point correlations.)

If the stochastic process is non-Gaussian, then the Gaussian approximation may still be
a good one, provided corrections due to higher order correlations are small. An additional
requirement is that correlations are of finite range. This is fulfilled in the cosmological set
up, because a natural cut-off for correlation is the horizon scale.

The Gaussian approximation breaks down when perturbations grow nonlinear, and ef-
fects of the nonlinearities (originating in the full theory) become significant. In this case the
corrections arising in the higher order correlation functions become important and need to
be incorporated in the probability distribution.

3
 The definition of entropy in Eq. (1) can be applied to cosmological perturbations in an
expanding universe (see Sec. 3.), when the evolution of perturbations can be well represented
by a Hamiltonian of second order in ϕ and π. This means that the Gaussian character of
the probability distribution is preserved in the course of evolution.

We now sketch a derivation of the expression for entropy in terms of correlation functions.
Assume that at some time t the probability functional P [ϕ, π] has a general Gaussian form

1 1
h Z
P [ϕ, π] = exp − ϕ(~x)A(~x, ~y )ϕ(~y )
N 2 (2.2)
i
3 3
+ π(~x)B(~x, ~y)π(~y ) + 2ϕ(~x)C(~x, ~y )π(~x, ~y ) d xd y ,

where N is a normalization constant, and A, B, and C are related to the two-point corre-
lation functions in a way yet to be determined. In a homogeneous space-time background,
A, B, and C are functions of (~x − ~y ) only.

By a clever substitution, it is possible to bring Eq. (2.2) into a diagonal form, in which
ϕ and π are replaced by new normal coordinates. It is then quite straightforward to evaluate
the normalization factor N of Eq. (2.2)
p
N = det D(~x − ~y ) , (2.3)

where D can be expressed in terms of correlation functions

Z
d3 z hϕ(~x)ϕ(~z)i hπ(~z)π(~y )i − hϕ(~x)π(~z )ihπ(~z)ϕ(~y )i .
 
D(~x − ~y ) = (2.4)

Using Eqs. (2.2) through (2.4), the expression (2.1) for the entropy gives

S = T r δ(~x − ~y ) + ln N . (2.5)

The first term is an irrelevant constant. The relevant contribution comes from the second
term and can be rewritten as
1
S= ln det D(~x − ~y ) . (2.6)
2
The above equation is the main result of this section. Eqs. (2.4) and (2.6) can be used to
obtain the entropy of any stochastic classical scalar field whose probability distribution can
be well approximated by the Gaussian probability distribution (2.2).

4
 In order to calculate the determinant of D(~x, ~y) , one needs to solve the eigenvalue prob-
lem associated with D. Under quite general conditions (assuming D is of finite support) and
[8]
using the ζ-function regularization scheme, it is possible to show that this determinant
can be expressed in terms of the spectral density D~k , which is given by the Fourier transform
of D(~x − ~y )
Z
~
D~k ≡ d3 z e−ik·~z D(~z ) = h|ϕ~k |2 i h|π~k |2 i − |hϕ~k π−~k i|2 (2.7)

and it is positive definite. The entropy then reads

d3 k 1
Z
S=V ln D~k . (2.8)
(2π)3 2

The procedure to calculate the entropy of a classical Gaussian field is now very simple.
Given two point correlation functions, one calculates D(~x −~y ) (Eq. (2.4)), Fourier transforms
it (Eq. (2.7)) and obtains the entropy according to Eq. (2.8). We now apply this prescription
to an example which is of interest in cosmology.

3. Entropy of Cosmological Perturbations

In this section we apply the method developed above to calculate the entropy of cos-
mological density perturbations. This is an example of relevance in cosmology, because it
is likely that the scalar density perturbations seed structures in the universe. We find that
the entropy of scalar density perturbations on large scales in the universe is significant when
compared to the statistical fluctuations of the entropy of cosmic microwave photons on the
same scales.

Before we present any calculations, we give a short summary of the theory of density
perturbations. Density perturbations are scalar type metric perturbations which couple to
energy density and pressure. For matter which is in the form of a scalar field, or an ideal gas,
it turns out that density perturbations can be described in a self-consistent manner in terms
of a single gauge invariant scalar field ϕ, which is a linear combination of scalar field matter
fluctuations (ideal gas density fluctuations) and longitudinal metric fluctuations and whose
dynamics is given by a quadratic action. (For a comprehensive account of the gauge invariant
formalism of linear cosmological perturbation in Friedmann-Robertson-Walker backgrounds
see Ref. [6] , for pedagogical introduction see Ref. [9 ] .)

5
 Hence, assuming that the gauge invariant field ϕ is a stochastic Gaussian field, we can
calculate the entropy associated with ϕ using Eqs. (2.4) and (2.6), or equivalently Eqs. (2.7)
and (2.8). In order to accomplish this, we need to know the two-point correlation functions
∂
hϕ(~x, t)ϕ(~y , t)i, hπ(~x, t)π(~y , t)i, and hϕ(~x, t)π(~y, t)i, where π(~x, t) = ∂t ϕ(~
x, t).

As an example of a model in which the correlation functions exhibit nontrivial behavior,

we consider an expanding universe with initial quantum fluctuations which evolve into clas-
sical ones as a result of evolution. In this case, particle pairs are produced via parametric
amplification, i.e., via coupling of matter fields to the nontrivial space-time background. Be-
cause of the generation of perturbations, the correlation functions become time dependent.
Here we consider the inflationary universe scenario in which there is abundant production
of inhomogeneities.

The Hamiltonian governing the evolution of the single scalar field ϕ and momentum π
is quadratic in ϕ and π, so that it is convenient to represent the evolution operator Û(t) in
a form in which the effects of free evolution (R) and interaction with the background (S)
are separated. Û(t) is the product of the rotation operator R and the two-mode squeeze
operator S

Û(t) = R({θ~k }) S({r~k , ϕ~k }) (3.1)

where
Y
R({θ~k }) = R(θ~k )
~k, kx >0
Y (3.2)
S({r~k , ϕ~k }) = S(r~k , ϕ~k ) .
~k, kx >0

is over half of the possible values of momenta ~k (for definiteness,

Q
The product ~k, kx >0
Rt
say kx > 0). The rotation angles θ~k = ωk̄ (t′ )dt′ are given in terms of the frequency ω~k of
mode ~k; r~ , ϕ~ are the squeeze factor and phase, respectively, and can be expressed in terms
k k
of parameters of the Hamiltonian (see Ref. [10] ). The two-mode squeeze operator S(r~k , ϕ~k )
acts on the vacuum |0in i , creating pairs of particles with momenta ~k and −~k, so that the
total momentum of the pair is zero; hence S(r~k , ϕ~k ) is a momentum conserving operator.
The operator S mathematically describes the process of parametric amplification.

Now we can express the two point correlation functions of quantum operators ϕ̂ and π̂ in
terms of the parameters of the squeezed state which is obtained as a result of the evolution

6
of the initial vacuum state |0in i of cosmological perturbations in an expanding Universe.
[11]
Simple, but rather lengthly calculation gives

d3 k −i~k·(~x−~y) 1
Z
h0in | ϕ(~x, t)ϕ(~y , t) |0in i = e
(2π)3 2ω~k (t)
 Z (3.3)
2


(2 sinh r~k + 1) − sinh 2r~k · cos 2 ω~k dt − ϕ~k .

where the frequencies ω~k and the squeeze factor r~k depend on time because of the nontrivial
evolution of the background. Similar expressions are obtained for h0in | π(~x, t) π (~y , t) |0in i
and h0in | ϕ(~x, t) π(~y , t) |0in i.

Now we argue that the contribution due to the second (oscillating) term of Eq. (3.3)
can be neglected in the classical limit, when the number of produced particles per mode is
large. This can be justified if we are considering the transition from quantum fluctuations
to classical ones and performing some coarse graining. The stochasticity which is induced in
the phases by coarse graining causes strong cancellation in the oscillating terms.

As a result we obtain for the spectral density of the operator D(~x − ~y )

D~k = sinh2 r~k (1 + sinh2 r~k ) . (3.4)

The entropy density per mode is then (Eq. (2.6))

S~k 1
s~k = = ln D~k (3.5)
V 2

and D~k ≈ n~2 = sinh2 r~k (for n~k ≫ 1 ), where n~k is the average number of particles in ~k-mode,
k
whenever the notion of particles can be defined. Note that Eq. (3.5) can be applied even if
the notion of particle is not well defined. In particular this is the case for inhomogeneities in
[6]
a matter dominated Universe. It is useful to define the entropy density sλ per logarithmic
wavelength λ ∼ 1/k interval
1
sλ ∼ k 3 s~k ≈ ln D~k . (3.6)
λ3

To demonstrate how the technique developed above works, we now apply Eq. (3.5) to
estimate the entropy of cosmological perturbations produced during the inflationary stage

7
 [12]
of a model of chaotic inflation . The simplest potential for the inflaton field φ I is V (φ I ) =
(1/2)m2 φ2I , where m is the mass of the inflaton, typically of the order 1013 GeV. Considering
perturbations on scales which enter the horizon late in the radiation era, we obtain the
following result for the entropy density of perturbations on a typical scale λph ∼ a/k (see
Ref. [8 ] )
1 h λph λph
λph
i
sλph ∼ ln (m l) ln , (3.7)
λ3ph λγ t l

where l is the Planck length, t is the cosmological time and λγ is the typical wavelength of
the cosmic microwave background radiation. This formula is applicable for perturbations
which satisfy the condition t ≫ λph ≫ λγ . The contribution to the total entropy of galactic
scale perturbations (∼ 1 − 100 Mpc) per corresponding galactic volume is Sgal ∼ λ3gal · sgal ≈
200 - 220 . The entropy of gravitational radiation can be estimated in the same manner (see
Ref. [8 ] ) .

Statistical fluctuations of cosmic microwave photons are another potential source of

inhomogeneities. However, the entropy density of these fluctuations scales as λ−3/2 compared
to the logarithmic dependence we found for the entropy density of density perturbations.
Hence, on scales of galaxies, the entropy of gravitational perturbations dominates over the
statistical fluctuations of the entropy of cosmic microwave photons. The total entropy of
cosmological fluctuations is, however, suppressed by a factor (H/mpl )3/2 (where H is the
Hubble expansion rate at the end of inflation) compared to that of the cosmic microwave
background. The dominance of the entropy of gravitational perturbations on large scales is
[8]
a sign of the relevance of this entropy for structure formation. A further application of
this entropy is in the context of a collapsing Universe.

It is worth noting that because of the weak (logarithmic) dependence of entropy per
mode on the energy scale m of the model, our conclusion remains valid for a wide class of
inflationary models.

8
 4. Discussion

We derived a new formula for the entropy of a stochastic Gaussian scalar field in terms
of two-point correlation functions. We then applied this result to the cosmologically relevant
example of density perturbations, using the formalism of linearized gauge invariant scalar
perturbations about a homogeneous classical space-time and matter background. We found
that the entropy of the system (scalar gravitational metric perturbations plus matter density
fluctuations) grows as a logarithm of the number of particles created as the universe expands.
On the scales of large structures in the universe, the entropy of density perturbations in an
inflationary Universe dominates over the entropy of statistical fluctuations of the cosmic
microwave photons.

The formalism for calculation of entropy which we developed in this letter can be applied
to any (cosmological) problem, which can be reduced to the evolution of a classical stochastic
Gaussian field.

The treatment of the full (nonlinear) gravitational field is still an open problem, and
the corresponding formula for entropy is yet to be constructed. It would be very instructive
to demonstrate that the entropy of the gravitational field continues to grow, even when the
perturbations become nonlinear.

Acknowledgements: For interesting discussions we are grateful to Andy Albrecht, Leonid

Grishchuk, Jim Hartle, Tony Houghton, Bei-Lok Hu and Henry Kandrup. Two of us (R. B.
and T. P. ) thank the ITP of the University of California in Santa Barbara for hospitality
during the completion of this work. V. M. thanks the Swiss National Science Foundation for
financial support. At Brown, this work was supported by DOE grant DE-AC02-76ER03130
Task A and by an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship to R. B. At the ITP in Santa
Barbara financial support from NSF grant PHY89-04035 is acknowledged.

9
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