Riding on irrelevant operators

Abstract

We investigate the stability of a class of derivative theories known as $P(X)$ and Galileons against corrections generated by quantum effects. We use an exact renormalisation group approach to argue that these theories are stable under quantum corrections at all loops in regions where the kinetic term is large compared to the strong coupling scale. This is the regime of interest for screening or Vainshtein mechanisms, and in inflationary models that rely on large kinetic terms. Next, we clarify the role played by the symmetries. While symmetries protect the form of the quantum corrections, theories equipped with more symmetries do not necessarily have a broader range of scales for which they are valid. We show this by deriving explicitly the regime of validity of the classical solutions for $P(X)$ theories including Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) models, both in generic and for specific background field configurations. Indeed, we find that despite the existence of an additional symmetry, the DBI effective field theory has a regime of validity similar to an arbitrary $P(X)$ theory. We explore the implications of our results for both early and late universe contexts. Conversely, when applied to static and spherical screening mechanisms, we deduce that the regime of validity of typical power-law $P(X)$ theories is much larger than that of DBI.