118746259
Odd-dimensional de Sitter Space is Transparent
We consider quantum field theory in de Sitter space, focusing on the cases of scalars, spin 1/2 fields, and symmetric and anti-symmetric tensor fields of arbitrary spin. The free field equations in global coordinates can be reduced to a one dimensional Schrodinger problem which possesses a remarkable structure; the potential is of an algebraically special type which appears as a multi-soliton solution of the KdV equation. In an odd number of spacetime dimensions these potentials are "transparent" in the sense that their reflection coefficients vanish identically. This has a remarkable consequence for physics in de Sitter space. It means that odd dimensional de Sitter space is transparent in the sense that a quantum state with no particles at past infinity will evolve into a state with no particles in the far future. This feature has been previously noted for scalar excitations, but the corresponding higher spin behaviour (and the proof using algebraic techniques) is new.
119112752
CMB statistical anisotropies of classical and quantum origins
We examine the impact of different anisotropic relics on inflation, in particular the predictions on the density perturbations. These relics can be the source of the large scale anomalies in the cosmic microwave background. There are two different types of background relics, one from the matter sector and the other purely from the metric. Although the angular-dependence of the statistical anisotropy in both cases are degenerate, the scale-dependence are observationally distinctive. In addition, we demonstrate that non-Bunch-Davies vacuum states can extend the statistical anisotropy to much shorter scales, and leave a scale-dependence that is insensitive to the different backgrounds but sensitive to the initial quantum state.
118533325
Quasi-Single Field Inflation and Non-Gaussianities
In quasi-single field inflation models, massive isocurvature modes, that are coupled to the inflaton and have mass of order the Hubble parameter, can have nontrivial impacts on density perturbations, especially non-Gaussianities. We study a simple example of quasi-single field inflation in terms of turning inflaton trajectory. Large bispectra with a one-parameter family of novel shapes arise, lying between the well-known local and equilateral shape. The trispectra can also be very large and its magnitude tNL can be much larger than fNL2.
2921220
Non-Gaussianity, isocurvature perturbation, gravitational waves, and a no-go theorem for the isocurvaton
We investigate the isocurvaton model, in which the isocurvature perturbation plays a role in suppressing the curvature perturbation, and large non-Gaussianity and gravitational waves can be produced with no isocurvature perturbation for dark matter. We show that in the slow-roll noninteracting multifield theory, the isocurvaton mechanism cannot be realized. This result can also be generalized to most of the studied models with generalized kinetic terms. We also study the implications for the curvaton model. We show that there is a combined constraint for curvaton on non-Gaussianity, gravitational waves, and isocurvature perturbation. The technique used in this paper can also help to simplify some calculations in the mixed inflaton and curvaton models. We also investigate the possibility of producing large negative non-Gaussianity and nonlocal non-Gaussianity in the curvaton model.
17457342
Curvaton dynamics and the non-linearity parameters in the curvaton model
We investigate the curvaton dynamics and the non-linearity parameters in the curvaton model with a potential slightly deviating from the quadratic form in detail. The non-linearity parameter gNL will show up due to the curvaton self-interaction. We also point out that the leading order of the non-quadratic term in the curvaton potential can be negative, for example in the axion-type curvaton model. If a large positive gNL is detected, the axion-type curvaton model will be preferred.
119270914
Quadra-Spectrum and Quint-Spectrum from Inflation and Curvaton Models
We calculate the quadra-spectrum and quint-spectrum, corresponding to five and six point correlation functions of the curvature perturbation. For single field inflation with standard kinetic term, the quadra-spectrum and quint-spectrum are small, which are suppressed by slow roll parameters. The calculation can be generalized to multiple fields. When there is no entropy perturbation, the quadra-spectrum and quint-spectrum are suppressed as well. With the presence of entropy perturbation, the quadra-spectrum and quint-spectrum can get boosted. We illustrate this boost in the multi-brid inflation model. For the curvaton scenario, the quadra-spectrum and quint-spectrum are also large in the small r limit. We also calculate representative terms of quadra-spectrum and quint-spectrum for inflation with generalized kinetic terms, and estimate their order of magnitude for quasi-single field inflation.
14068063
Updated Constraints on the Minimal Supergravity Model
We provide an up-to-date analysis of the parameter space of the minimal supergravity model (mSUGRA). Novel features include the new central value of the top quark mass, an improved calculation of the masses of the supersymmetric particles and the neutral Higgs bosons, constraints from b→sl+l− decays, and a careful treatment of the most important experimental and theoretical uncertainties. In addition to the by now traditional plots of the allowed region in the (m0,m1/2) plane, we show allowed regions in the planes spanned by pairs of physical sparticle or Higgs boson masses. Moreover, we search for the minimal allowed masses of new particles for various sets of constraints. We find that in many cases the direct experimental limits from collider and Dark Matter searches can be saturated even in this minimal model, and even after including the by now quite restrictive constraint on the Dark Matter relic density.
118183165
Topological quantization of self-dual Chern-Simons vortices on Riemann surfaces
The self-duality equations of Chern-Simons Higgs theory in a background curved spacetime are studied by making use of the U(1) gauge potential decomposition theory and $\phi$-mapping method. The special form of the gauge potential decomposition is obtained directly from the first of the self-duality equations. Using this decomposition, a rigorous proof of magnetic flux quantization in background curved spacetime is given and the unit magnetic flux in curved spacetime is also found . Furthermore, the precise self-dual vortex equation with topological term is obtained, in which the topological term has always been ignored.
41894778
Initial results from the ANITA 2006-2007 Balloon Flight
We report initial results of the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) 2006-2007 Long Duration Balloon flight, which searched for evidence of the flux of cosmogenic neutrinos. ANITA flew for 35 days looking for radio impulses that might be due to the Askaryan effect in neutrino-induced electromagnetic showers within the Antarctic ice sheets. In our initial high-threshold robust analysis, no neutrino candidates are seen, with no physics background. In a non-signal horizontal-polarization channel, we do detect 6 events consistent with radio impulses from extensive air showers, which helps to validate the effectiveness of our method. Upper limits derived from our analysis now begin to eliminate the highest cosmogenic neutrino models.
16358983
Unbiased Estimate of Dark Energy Density from Type Ia Supernova Data
Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are currently the best probes of the dark energy in the universe. To constrain the nature of dark energy, we assume a flat universe and that the weak energy condition is satisfied, and we allow the density of dark energy, ρX(z), to be an arbitrary function of redshift. Using simulated data from a space-based SN pencil-beam survey, we find that by optimizing the number of parameters used to parameterize the dimensionless dark energy density, f(z) = ρX(z)/ρX(z = 0), we can obtain an unbiased estimate of both f(z) and the fractional matter density of the universe, Ωm. A plausible SN pencil-beam survey (with a square degree field of view and for an observational duration of 1 yr) can yield about 2000 SNe Ia with 0 ≤ z ≤ 2. Such a survey in space would yield SN peak luminosities with a combined intrinsic and observational dispersion of σ(mint) = 0.16 mag. We find that for such an idealized survey, Ωm can be measured to 10% accuracy, and the dark energy density can be estimated to ~20% to z ~ 1.5, and ~20%-40% to z ~ 2, depending on the time dependence of the true dark energy density. Dark energy densities that vary more slowly can be more accurately measured. For the anticipated Supernova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP) mission, Ωm can be measured to 14% accuracy, and the dark energy density can be estimated to ~20% to z ~ 1.2. Our results suggest that SNAP may gain much sensitivity to the time dependence of the dark energy density and Ωm by devoting more observational time to the central pencil-beam fields to obtain more SNe Ia at z > 1.2. We use both a maximum likelihood analysis and a Monte Carlo analysis (when appropriate) to determine the errors of estimated parameters. We find that the Monte Carlo analysis gives a more accurate estimate of the dark energy density than the maximum likelihood analysis.
117803515
Two-dimensional confinement of critical U(1) gauge field in the presence of Fermi surface
The compact U(1) gauge field occurs in many fractionalized descriptions of low dimensional quantum magnetism and heavy fermion systems. In this respect a fundamental question about the gauge field is whether it is confined or not in the presence of Fermi surface. In this paper we show that the U(1) gauge field with a possible positive anomalous dimension in the presence of Fermi surface has to be in the confined state, although it is strongly coupled to abundant gapless fermionic excitations near the Fermi surface in two spatial dimensions. This means that some quantum spin liquids and/or fractionalized metallic states described in terms of this kind of gauge fields with positive anomalous dimensions are unstable to other possible symmetry-breaking states, as a result, they are not be appropriate candidates for ground states in related systems. The instability obtained shows some novel features of the quantum spin liquids and/or fractionalized metallic states in the presence of Fermi surface which have not been reported in the literature. The result could be useful for further study in the quantum spin liquids and many related slave-particle gauge theories in strongly correlated electron systems.