Motivated by the quest for black holes in anti-de Sitter braneworlds, and, in particular, by the holographic conjecture relating 5D classical bulk solutions with 4D quantum corrected ones, we numerically solve the semiclassical Einstein equations (backreaction equations) with matter fields in the (zero-temperature) Boulware vacuum state. In the absence of an exact analytical expression for $⟨T_{\mu \nu }⟩$ in four dimensions we work within the $s$-wave approximation. Our results show that the quantum corrected solution is very similar to Schwarzschild spacetime until very close to the horizon, but then a bouncing surface for the radial function appears which prevents the formation of an event horizon. We also analyze the behavior of the geometry beyond the bounce, where a curvature singularity arises. In the dual theory, this indicates that the corresponding 5D static classical braneworld solution is not a black hole but rather a naked singularity.

We point out that, if quantum field renormalization is taken into account and the counterterms are evaluated at the Hubble-radius crossing time or few $e$-foldings after it, the predictions of slow-roll inflation for both the scalar and the tensorial power spectrum change significantly. This leads to a change in the consistency condition that relates the tensor-to-scalar amplitude ratio with spectral indices. A reexamination of the potentials ${\varphi }^{\mathbf{2}}$ and ${\varphi }^{\mathbf{4}}$ shows that both are compatible with five-year WMAP data. Only when the counterterms are evaluated at much larger times beyond the end of inflation does one recover the standard predictions. The alternative predictions presented here may soon come within the range of measurement of near-future experiments.

The source-free Maxwell action is invariant under electric-magnetic duality rotations in arbitrary spacetimes. This leads to a conserved classical Noether charge. We show that this conservation law is broken at the quantum level in the presence of a background classical gravitational field with a nontrivial Chern-Pontryagin invariant, in parallel with the chiral anomaly for massless Dirac fermions. Among the physical consequences, the net polarization of the quantum electromagnetic field is not conserved.

We provide an explicit expression for the renormalized expectation value of the stress-energy tensor of a spin-$1/2$ field in a spatially flat Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker universe. Its computation is based on the extension of the adiabatic regularization method to fermion fields introduced recently in the literature. The tensor is given in terms of UV-finite integrals in momentum space, which involve the mode functions that define the quantum state. As illustrative examples of the method efficiency, we see how to compute the renormalized energy density and pressure in two interesting cosmological scenarios: a de Sitter spacetime and a radiation-dominated universe. In the second case, we explicitly show that the late-time renormalized stress-energy tensor behaves as that of classical cold matter. We also check that, if we obtain the adiabatic expansion of the scalar field mode functions with a similar procedure to the one used for fermions, we recover the well-known WKB-type expansion.

We find that the amplitude of quantum fluctuations of the invariant de Sitter vacuum coincides exactly with that of the vacuum of a comoving observer for a massless scalar (inflaton) field. We propose redefining the actual physical power spectrum as the difference between the amplitudes of the above vacua. An inertial particle detector continues to observe the Gibbons-Hawking temperature. However, although the resulting power spectrum is still scale-free, its amplitude can be drastically reduced since now, instead of the Hubble’s scale at the inflationary period, it is determined by the square of the mass of the inflaton fluctuation field.

We study the generation of primordial perturbations in a (single-field) slow-roll inflationary Universe. In momentum space, these (Gaussian) perturbations are characterized by a zero mean and a nonzero variance $\Delta${}2(k,t). However, in position space the variance diverges in the ultraviolet. The requirement of a finite variance in position space forces one to regularize $\Delta${}2(k,t). This can (and should) be achieved by proper renormalization in an expanding Universe in a unique way. This affects the predicted scalar and tensorial power spectra (evaluated when the modes acquire classical properties) for wavelengths that today are at observable scales. As a consequence, the imprint of slow-roll inflation on the cosmic microwave background anisotropies is significantly altered. We find a nontrivial change in the consistency condition that relates the tensor-to-scalar ratio r to the spectral indices. For instance, an exact scale-invariant tensorial power spectrum, nt=0, is now compatible with a nonzero ratio r$\approx${}0.12\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.06, which is forbidden by the standard prediction (r=-8nt). The influence of relic gravitational waves on the cosmic microwave background may soon come within the range of planned measurements, offering a nontrivial test of the new predictions.