arXiv subjects

Diptimoy Ghosh

Publications and source records attributed to Diptimoy Ghosh.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Positivity in Massive Spin-3/2 EFTs and the Planck-Suppressed Neighbourhood of Supergravity

It is well known that a strictly massless spin-$3/2$ particle can interact consistently only within supergravity. Recently, positivity arguments have shown that an effective field theory of a massive Majorana spin-$3/2$ particle admits a smooth $m \to 0$ limit only if a graviton is present and the four-fermion contact interactions are tuned to the values dictated by $\mathcal{N}=1$ supergravity. In this work, we investigate how this limit is approached at finite mass. Assuming that the graviton $t$-channel pole can be discarded, we derive non-forward, tree-level dispersive bounds on massive spin-3/2 contact operators and determine the region of effective couplings consistent with unitarity and analyticity. For sufficiently small $m$, we find that the allowed parameter space forms a bounded, Planck-suppressed neighbourhood of the supergravity point, defined by the supergravity values of the four-fermion couplings. The supergravity point lies on the boundary of this region. In the regime $m \ll M_{\rm Pl}$, the volume of the allowed region scales parametrically as \[ \mathrm{Vol} \sim \frac{m^{6}}{M_{\rm Pl}^{6}} \, , \] and shrinks to zero as $m \to 0$, smoothly reproducing the massless-limit results. The allowed region becomes unbounded when mass approaches the Planck scale. We further analyze the effect of including additional light scalar and pseudo-scalar degrees of freedom, motivated by the Polonyi model, and find that their couplings are also bounded in a way similar to the contact couplings and that it doesn't enlarge the allowed contact coupling space.

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arXiv2026

Massive Exchange and the Sign of the Equilateral Bispectrum

We study the inflationary bispectrum generated by the tree-level exchange of a massive hidden-sector scalar during inflation. When the interaction between the inflaton and the hidden sector arises only from the leading boost-breaking operator of the Effective Field Theory (EFT) of inflation, the equilateral bispectrum for principal-series scalar exchange is known to be universally negative, independent of the sign of the coupling. We revisit this result within the full EFT operator basis. Using bootstrap methods, we construct the de Sitter-invariant seed four-point function and obtain the inflationary bispectrum via weight-shifting operators and a soft-limit procedure. While the equilateral bispectrum remains strictly negative when only the leading interaction is present, additional operators generate independent cubic structures whose contributions compete in the equilateral configuration. As a result, the sign of the bispectrum is no longer universal. We derive a critical ratio of interaction coefficients that separates regions of positive and negative equilateral bispectrum. We further study the effects of reduced sound speed $c_s<1$ and the exchange of multiple particles. In both cases, the critical ratio is modified, and for multi-particle exchange a positive equilateral bispectrum can arise even when the higher-order operator is subdominant. Our results show that the negativity of the equilateral bispectrum from massive exchange is not generic, but reflects a restricted operator structure in the EFT of inflation.

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arXiv2026

Stable Causality and Microcausality for Drummond-Hathrell Photons

Local superluminal photon propagation arises at $\mathcal{O}(\alpha/m_e^2)$ in the Drummond Hathrell (DH) effective action obtained by integrating out the electron in QED coupled to gravity. Whether such superluminality implies a genuine violation of causality in curved spacetime is subtle and remains conceptually nontrivial. In this work we revisit this question using two complementary and largely symmetry-independent diagnostics. First, we analyse the global causal structure of the effective (optical) metric governing DH photon propagation and identify conditions under which it remains stably causal, thereby excluding the formation of closed causal curves. Second, from a quantum-field-theoretic perspective, we examine microcausality by treating the gravitational background as a fixed Lorentz-breaking field and applying flat-spacetime analyticity bounds to the photon commutator within the geometric-optics regime of the EFT. For two representative examples, a circular photon orbit in Schwarzschild and a linear trajectory in a two-black-hole geometry, we find that, within the regime of validity of the DH effective theory, both diagnostics indicate that the superluminal photon propagation is causally benign. Our results do not constitute a general definition of microcausality in curved spacetime, but provide a controlled and instructive check of causal consistency for EFT superluminality in gravitational backgrounds.

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arXiv2025

Singularities in Cosmological Loop Correlators II : Non Local Interactions and Flat Space limits

Non-local interactions naturally arise in the ADM formalism after solving the constraint equations and substituting their solutions back into the action. However, the effects of these non-local operators on loop corrections to cosmological correlators remain largely unexplored. Extending the analysis of arXiv:2503.21880 , in this work we compute the $1$-loop bispectrum during slow-roll inflation, including the inverse-Laplacian operators present at cubic and quartic order in the ADM action (in the spatially flat gauge). These non-local vertices introduce non-trivial angular dependencies that significantly complicate the evaluation of loop integrals. We find that the diagrammatic rules of arXiv:2503.21880 for identifying poles and branch cuts in correlators without explicit integration remain valid even in the presence of such non-local interactions. Finally, we derive the flat-space limit of the $1$-loop inflationary correlator and verify it with explicit examples, thereby establishing a direct correspondence between its leading total-energy singularities ($\omega_T\rightarrow0$) and the flat-space scattering amplitude.

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arXiv2025

Positivity at 1-Loop: Bounds on Photon and Gluon EFTs

In this paper, we attempt to derive ``positivity" bounds on Photon and Gluon Effective Field Theories (EFTs) at one loop level. While for the Photon case, the one loop amplitude is IR finite and well defined in the forward limit, earlier studies failed to obtain a dispersive bound on dimension-12 operators due to the dependence of the ``arc integral" on the artificial low-energy scale. We show that this awkward dependence can be taken care of by analysing the ultra-violet (UV) side of dispersion relation closely. In particular, we derive an IR safe and RG improved bound at 1-loop. Thereafter, we perform a similar analysis on the Gluon EFT, which has additional complications due to ill-defined forward limit and IR divergences at 1-loop. We show that even in this case, one can get a meaningful bound at 1-loop.

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arXiv2025

Singularities in Cosmological Loop Correlators

In this work we perform a systematic study of the singularity structure of inflationary correlations at 1-loop. We explicitly compute a few diagrams and find a pattern emerging in the singularities produced. Motivated by this, we derive diagrammatic rules to extract the singularities of any two-site 1-loop diagram. Using these rules, the poles and branch cuts produced can be predicted by simply identifying the energies flowing through certain subgraphs, without having to perform complicated integrals. We demonstrate how these rules follow by analyzing the general structure of the time and momentum integrals of the correlators. An interesting feature of de-Sitter correlators at 1-loop is the presence of an off-shell total energy branch point, which is present in dimensional regularization as well as cutoff regularization. We probe the source of this branch cut in detail, while revisiting the cosmological KLN theorem (arXiv:2308.00680) in this context. Finally, we show that the branch cuts produced in a renormalised correlator always repackage themselves in a dilatation invariant form to produce logarithms of ratios of comoving scales.

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arXiv2025

Cosmological cutting rules for Bogoliubov initial states: any mass and spin

The cosmological optical theorem and the cutting rules are well-known consequences of unitary time evolution in cosmology. The earlier works showed that assuming a Bunch-Davies initial state, one can derive equations relating a wavefunction diagram with a given number of internal lines to a sum of diagrams with fewer internal lines. In particular, it can relate a loop diagram to a sum of tree-level diagrams. Recently these relations were generalised to a set of excited initial states known as Bogoliubov states and they were shown to have non-trivial consequences for n-point contact and 4-point exchange diagrams. This analysis restricted the field content to massless and conformally coupled scalar fields. In this paper, we take the final step of generalising these "Bogoliubov cutting rules" to fields of any mass and spin. We define modified propagator identities and corresponding "Discontinuities" which automatically generalise the earlier relations to fields of any mass and spin. Finally, we discuss issues concerning the far past convergence of time integrals in the complex plane.

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arXiv2024

Cosmological cutting rules for Bogoliubov initial states

The field theoretic wavefunction in cosmological spacetimes has received much attention as a fundamental object underlying the generation of primordial perturbations in our universe. Assuming an initial Bunch-Davies state, unitary time evolution implies an infinite set of cutting rules for the wavefunction to all orders in perturbation theory, collectively known as the cosmological optical theorem. In this work, we generalise these results to the case of Bogoliubov initial states, accounting for both parity-even and parity-odd interactions. We confirm our findings in a few explicit examples, assuming IR-finite interactions. In these examples, we preserve scale invariance by adiabatically turning on interactions in the infinite past rather than imposing a Bogoliubov state at some finite initial time. Finally, we give a prescription for computing Bogoliubov wavefunction coefficients from the corresponding Bunch-Davies coefficients for both n-point contact and four-point exchange diagrams.

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arXiv2024

Bispectrum at 1-loop in the Effective Field Theory of Inflation

In this paper we compute 1-loop corrections to the bispectrum in the decoupling limit of the Effective Field Theory of Inflation (EFToI). We regulate the divergences by employing dimensional regularization and work in $d=3+\delta$ dimensions. We find that the final results feature analytic structures of the form $\log{\left(k_i/k_T\right)}$ and $\log{\left(H/\mu\right)}$, where $H$ is the Hubble parameter and $\mu$ is the renormalisation scale. An interesting outcome of our calculations is that unlike the 1-loop correction to the power-spectrum computed in arXiv:0912.2734 the unrenormalised answers always produce unphysical logarithms of co-moving momenta. These unphysical logarithms are cancelled only after renormalisation. We expect this to be a generic feature for loop computations unless there is some cancellation as in the previously computed 1-loop result for the power-spectrum.

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arXiv2023

Mixed Graviton and Scalar Bispectra in the EFT of Inflation: Soft Limits and Boostless Bootstrap

Boostless Bootstrap techniques have been applied by many in the literature to compute pure scalar and graviton correlators. In this paper, we focus primarily on mixed graviton and scalar correlators. We start by developing an EFT of Inflation (EFToI) with some general assumptions, clarifying various subtleties related to power counting. We verify explicitly the soft limits for mixed correlators, showing how they are satisfied for higher derivative operators beyond the Maldacena action. We clarify some confusion in the literature related to the soft limits for operators that modify the power spectra of gravitons or scalars. We then proceed to apply the boostless bootstrap rules to operators that do not modify the power spectra. Towards the end, we give a prescription that gives correlators for states that are Bogolyubov transforms of the Bunch-Davies vacuum, directly once we have the correlator for the Bunch-Davies vacuum. This enables us to bypass complicated in-in calculations for Bogolyubov states.

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arXiv2023

Blazar boosted Dark Matter -- direct detection constraints on $σ_{eχ}$ : Role of energy dependent cross sections

Elastic collisions with relativistic electrons from the blazar's jet can accelerate dark matter (DM) particles in the DM spike surrounding the supermassive black hole at its center. This can allow one to set stringent limits on the DM-electron scattering cross section ($\barσ_{eχ}$) for DM masses less than 100 MeV. We consider DM particles boosted by energetic electrons in the jets of the blazars TXS 0506+056 and BL Lacertae. Both vector and scalar mediators for the scattering of electron and electrophilic fermionic DM are studied. We highlight that the ensuing energy dependency of the S-matrix for the corresponding Lorentz structure of the vertex significantly modifies the constraints. We find that the revised exclusion limits are orders of magnitude stronger than the equivalent results for the simple constant cross section assumption. Our limits are also assessed for the less cuspy spike.

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arXiv2023

Amplitude's positivity vs. subluminality: Causality and Unitarity Constraints on dimension 6 & 8 Gluonic operators in the SMEFT

We derive the causality and unitarity constraints on dimension 6 and dimension 8 Gluon field strength operators in the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT). In the first part of the paper, we use the 'amplitude analysis' i.e. dispersion relation for $2\rightarrow2$ scattering in the forward limit, to put bounds on the Wilson coefficients. We show that the dimension 6 operators can exist only in the presence of certain dimension 8 operators. It is interesting that the square of the dimension 6 Wilson coefficients can be constrained in this case even at the tree level. In the second part of this work, we successfully rederive all these bounds using the classical causality argument that demands that the speed of fluctuations about any non-trivial background should not exceed the speed of light. We also point out some subtleties in the superluminality analysis regarding whether the low-frequency phase velocity can always be used as the relevant quantity for Causality violation: as an example, we show that, due to these subtleties, if a small pion mass is added in the chiral Lagrangian, it is unclear if any strict positivity bound can be derived on the dimension 8 Wilson coefficient. Finally, we mention an interesting non-relativistic example where the subluminality requirement produces a stronger bound than the 'amplitude analysis'.

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arXiv2023

Bell violation in $2\rightarrow 2$ scattering in photon, gluon and graviton EFTs

In this paper, we explore Bell inequality violation for $2\rightarrow2$ scattering in Effective Field Theories (EFTs) of photons, gluons, and gravitons. Using the CGLMP Bell parameter ($I_2$), we show that, starting from an appropriate initial non-product state, the Bell inequality can always be violated in the final state (i.e.,$I_2 >2$) at least for some scattering angle. For an initial product state, we demonstrate that abelian gauge theories behave qualitatively differently than non-abelian gauge theories (or Gravity) from the point of view of Bell violation in the final state: in the non-abelian case, Bell violation ($I_2>2$) is never possible within the validity of EFTs for weakly coupled UV completions. Interestingly, we also find that, for a maximally entangled initial state, scattering can reduce the degree of entanglement only for CP-violating theories. Thus Bell violation in $2\rightarrow2$ scattering can, in principle, be used to classify CP conserving vs violating theories.

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arXiv2023

$R_{K^{(\ast)}}$ from RPV-SUSY sneutrinos

We analyze the lepton flavor universality violation (LFV) in process $b\to s \ell^+\ell^-$ in an R-parity violating supersymmetric (RPV-SUSY) scenario. The most recent update on $\rk$ from the LHCb collaboration suggests approximately $3.1σ$ deviation from the Standard Model predictions, strengthening the case of LFV New Physics. In this work, we show that $R_{K^{(*)}}$ anomaly can be addressed via only sneutrinos within the framework of R-parity violating interactions assuming phenomenologically viable values of the couplings. While our proposed solution is by no means the only solution to these anomalies, it is a phenomenologically plausible one and, notably, quite a minimal one in the context of RPV-SUSY.

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arXiv2023

Bounds on boosted dark matter from direct detection: The role of energy-dependent cross sections

The recoil threshold of Direct Detection experiments limits the mass range of Dark Matter (DM) particles that can be detected, with most DD experiments being blind to sub-MeV DM particles. However, these light DM particles can be boosted to very high energies via collisions with energetic Cosmic Ray electrons. This allows Dark Matter particles to induce detectable recoil in the target of Direct Detection experiments. We derive constraints on scattering cross section of DM and electron, using XENONnT and Super-Kamiokande data. Vector and scalar mediators are considered, in the heavy and light regimes. We discuss the importance of including energy dependent cross sections (due to specific Lorentz structure of the vertex) in our analysis, and show that the bounds can be significantly different than the results obtained assuming constant energy-independent cross-section, often assumed in the literature for simplicity. Our bounds are also compared with other astrophysical and cosmological constraints.

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arXiv2022

Probing the initial state of inflation: analytical structure of cosmological correlators

We study the analytic structure of in-in correlation functions in a deSitter background. The aim of this study is to probe the initial conditions for inflation through the features of correlation functions of the field fluctuations, and understand precisely how an in-in correlator responds to particles in the initial state. We emphasize that the choice of vacuua and the corresponding particle interpretation for these fluctuations is flexible, and we clarify the role of this choice at the level of calculations and their diagrammatic interpretation. We consider several possibilities aside from the standard Bunch Davies vacuum prescription for the initial state, and trace the change in pole structure as one begins adding excitations; starting from just a single particle, to highly excited states and special cases such as a coherent state. We illustrate - with the example of coherent states - the subtleties in concluding a Bunch Davies initial state from the absence of physical poles in the bispectrum, which is interesting in light of some recent literature. Initial states with a finite number of excitations are plagued with disconnected diagrams isolated in phase space, and we highlight their implications on the observation of these signals, and how the situation changes as one begins to excite more and more particles. We also comment about the implications of various initial conditions on the squeezed limit of the bispectrum. These new pole structures are a direct consequence of mixing of positive and negative frequency modes which is a characteristic of curved spacetimes; in particular, we see in detail how particles in an initial state replicate mode mixing structures. This study aims to clarify the missing details that link quantum and classical initial conditions, and sharpen our understanding of in-in correlators in inflation.

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arXiv2022

Gravitation Wave signal from Asteroid mass Primordial Black Hole Dark Matter

Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) in the mass range $\sim 10^{17}- 10^{22}$g are currently unconstrained, and can constitute the full Dark Matter (DM) density of the universe. Motivated by this, in the current work, we aim to relate the existence of PBHs in the said mass range to the production of observable Gravitational Waves (GWs) in the upcoming GW detectors. We follow a relatively model-independent approach assuming that the PBHs took birth in a radiation dominated era from enhanced primordial curvature perturbation at small scales produced by inflation. We show that the constraints from CMB and BAO data allow for the possibility of PBHs being the whole of DM density of the universe. Finally, we derive the GW spectrum induced by the enhanced curvature perturbations and show that they are detectable in the future GW detectors like eLISA, BBO and DECIGO.

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arXiv2022

Exclusion limits on Dark Matter-Neutrino Scattering Cross-section

We derive new constraints on combination of dark matter - electron cross-section ($σ_{χe}$) and dark matter - neutrino cross-section ($σ_{χν}$) utilising the gain in kinetic energy of the dark matter (DM) particles due to scattering with the cosmic ray electrons and the diffuse supernova neutrino background (DSNB). Since the flux of the DSNB neutrinos is comparable to the CR electron flux in the energy range $\sim 1\,{\rm MeV} - 50 \,{\rm MeV}$, scattering with the DSNB neutrinos can also boost low-mass DM significantly in addition to the boost due to interaction with the cosmic ray electrons. We use the XENON1T as well as the Super-Kamiokande data to derive bounds on $σ_{χe}$ and $σ_{χν}$. While our bounds for $σ_{χe}$ are comparable with those in the literature, we show that the Super-Kamiokande experiment provides the strongest constraint on $σ_{χν}$ for DM masses below a few MeV.

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