Origin of structure in the Universe

It is assumed that the Universe is in the quantum state defined by a path integral over compact four-metrics. This can be regarded as a boundary condition for the wave function of the Universe on superspace, the space of all three-metrics and matter field configurations on a three-surface. We extend previous work on finite-dimensional approximations to superspace to the full infinite-dimensional space. We treat the two homogeneous and isotropic degrees of freedom exactly and the others to second order. We justify this approximation by showing that the inhomogeneous or anisotropic modes start off in their ground state. We derive time-dependent Schrödinger equations for each mode. The modes remain in their ground state until their wavelength exceeds the horizon size in the period of exponential expansion. The ground-state fluctuations are then amplified by the subsequent expansion and the modes reenter the horizon in the matter- or radiation-dominated era in a highly excited state. We obtain a scale-free spectrum of density perturbations which could account for the origin of galaxies and all other structure in the Universe. The fluctuations would be compatible with observations of the microwave background if the mass of the scalar field that drives the inflation is 10¹⁴ GeV or less.