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arXiv · 2601.02331

Quantum dynamics of cosmological particle production: interacting quantum field theories with matrix product states

Evan Budd·Adrien Florio·David Frenklakh·Swagato Mukherjee
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Abstract

Understanding real-time dynamics of interacting quantum fields in curved spacetime remains a major theoretical challenge. We employ tensor network methods to study such dynamics using interacting scalar and gauge theories in 1+1 spacetime dimensions, subject to a quench modeling a homogeneously expanding gravitational background. The models considered are the scalar $λϕ^4$ theory and the Schwinger model, i.e. a Dirac fermion coupled to a $U(1)$ gauge field which is equivalent via bosonization to a scalar field with a cosine self-interaction. In the free scalar limit, both theories reproduce known analytical results, providing a nontrivial numerical validation of bosonization in curved spacetime for the Schwinger model. Our central finding is that self-interactions lead to a suppression of gravitational particle production compared to the free-field case, as evidenced by two-point functions and the spectra of produced particles. We further examine the behavior of entanglement generation and find that interactions suppress entanglement growth in the $λϕ^4$ theory, while in the Schwinger model, the interplay between suppressed particle production and enhanced inter-particle correlations leads to more complex entanglement behavior. Our results pave the way for further explorations of nonperturbative quantum real-time dynamics of interacting scalar and gauge theories in arbitrary gravitational backgrounds.

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Evan Budd, Adrien Florio, David Frenklakh, Swagato Mukherjee. 2026-04-27. Quantum dynamics of cosmological particle production: interacting quantum field theories with matrix product states. https://doi.org/10.1007/jhep04(2026)183

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