Light scalars on cosmological backgrounds

DOI10.1007/JHEP01(2018)116zbMATH Open1384.83071arXiv1711.07502MaRDI QIDQ1745528FDOQ1745528

Tommi Markkanen

Publication date: 17 April 2018

Published in: Journal of High Energy Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We study the behaviour of a light quartically self-interacting scalar field $phi$ on curved backgrounds that may be described with the cosmological equation state parameter $w$. At leading order in the non-perturbative 2PI expansion we find a general formula for the variance $langlehat{phi}^{2}angle$ and show for several previously unexplored cases, including matter domination and kination, that the curvature of space can induce a significant excitation of the field. We discuss how the generation of a non-zero variance for $weq-1$ can be understood as a process of self-regulation of the infrared divergences very similarly to what is known to occur in de Sitter space. To conclude, the appearance of an effective mass due to self-interaction is generic for a light scalar in curved space and can have important implications for reheating, vacuum stability and dark matter generation.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1711.07502

zbMATH Keywords

classical theories of gravityfield theories in higher dimensionsfield theories in lower dimensions

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Methods of quantum field theory in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C47) Relativistic gravitational theories other than Einstein's, including asymmetric field theories (83D05) Relativistic cosmology (83F05)

Cites Work

• Title not available (Why is that?)
• Quantum Fields in Curved Space
• Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetime
• Effective action for composite operators
• Finite-Temperature Field Theory
• The quark-gluon plasma: Collective dynamics and hard thermal loops
• Exact RG invariance and symmetry improved 2PI effective potential
• Infrared effects in inflationary correlation functions
• On the one loop corrections to inflation and the CMB anisotropies
• Stochastic quantum gravitational inflation
• Stochastic inflationary scalar electrodynamics
• Infrared dynamics in de Sitter space from Schwinger-Dyson equations
• Dark matter from gravitational particle production at reheating
• Effective long wavelength scalar dynamics in de Sitter
• Renormalization group flow and symmetry restoration in de Sitter space
• Massive scalar field evolution in de Sitter
• Nonperturbative infrared effects for light scalar fields in de Sitter space
• Infrared divergences for free quantum fields in cosmological spacetimes
• Gravitational particle creation in a stiff matter dominated universe

Cited In (7)

• On the renormalization group in curved spacetime
• When tadpoles matter: one-loop corrections for spectator Higgs in inflation
• Photon propagator for inflation in the general covariant gauge
• Light scalars from a compact fifth dimension
• Non-minimal gravitational reheating during kination
• Despicable dark relics: generated by gravity with unconstrained masses
• Light in the new standard model of the universe

This page was built for publication: Light scalars on cosmological backgrounds

Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q1745528)