Loop corrections in the separate universe picture

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Hauptverfasser: Iacconi, Laura, Mulryne, David, Seery, David
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2023
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author Iacconi, Laura
Mulryne, David
Seery, David
author_facet Iacconi, Laura
Mulryne, David
Seery, David
contents In inflationary models that produce a spike of power on short scales, back-reaction of small-scale substructure onto large-scale modes is enhanced. We argue that the separate universe framework provides a highly convenient tool to compute loop corrections that quantify this back-reaction. Each loop of interest is characterized by large hierarchies in wavenumber and horizon exit time. The separate universe framework highlights important factorizations involving these hierarchies. We interpret each loop correction in terms of a simple, classical, back-reaction model, and clarify the meaning of the different volume scalings that have been reported in the literature. We argue that significant back-reaction requires both short-scale nonlinearities and long-short couplings that modulate the short-scale power spectrum. In the absence of long-short couplings, only incoherent shot noise-like effects are present, which are volume-suppressed. Dropping the shot noise, back-reaction from a particular scale is controlled by a product of $f_{NL}$-like parameters: an equilateral configuration measuring the nonlinearity of the short-scale modes, and a squeezed configuration measuring the long-short coupling. These may carry important scale dependence controlling the behaviour of the loop in the decoupling limit where the hierarchy of scales becomes large. In single-field models the long-short coupling may be suppressed by this hierarchy, in which case the net back-reaction would be safely suppressed. We illustrate our framework using explicit computations in a 3-phase ultra-slow-roll scenario. Finally, we discuss different choices for the smoothing scale used in the separate universe framework and argue the effect can be absorbed into a renormalization of local operators.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2312_12424
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Loop corrections in the separate universe picture
Iacconi, Laura
Mulryne, David
Seery, David
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
In inflationary models that produce a spike of power on short scales, back-reaction of small-scale substructure onto large-scale modes is enhanced. We argue that the separate universe framework provides a highly convenient tool to compute loop corrections that quantify this back-reaction. Each loop of interest is characterized by large hierarchies in wavenumber and horizon exit time. The separate universe framework highlights important factorizations involving these hierarchies. We interpret each loop correction in terms of a simple, classical, back-reaction model, and clarify the meaning of the different volume scalings that have been reported in the literature. We argue that significant back-reaction requires both short-scale nonlinearities and long-short couplings that modulate the short-scale power spectrum. In the absence of long-short couplings, only incoherent shot noise-like effects are present, which are volume-suppressed. Dropping the shot noise, back-reaction from a particular scale is controlled by a product of $f_{NL}$-like parameters: an equilateral configuration measuring the nonlinearity of the short-scale modes, and a squeezed configuration measuring the long-short coupling. These may carry important scale dependence controlling the behaviour of the loop in the decoupling limit where the hierarchy of scales becomes large. In single-field models the long-short coupling may be suppressed by this hierarchy, in which case the net back-reaction would be safely suppressed. We illustrate our framework using explicit computations in a 3-phase ultra-slow-roll scenario. Finally, we discuss different choices for the smoothing scale used in the separate universe framework and argue the effect can be absorbed into a renormalization of local operators.
title Loop corrections in the separate universe picture
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.12424