arXiv subjects

Mauricio Gamonal

Publications and source records attributed to Mauricio Gamonal.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Toller matrices and the Feynman $i\varepsilon$ in spinfoams

We study the analytic properties and three equivalent representations of the Toller matrices $T^{(\pm)}$ which appear in the causal formulation of spinfoam transition amplitudes for 4d Lorentzian quantum gravity. These are polynomially bounded functions on the Lorentz group which satisfy the relation $T^{(+)}+T^{(-)}=D$, where the Wigner matrix $D$ provides a unitary irreducible representation of $SL(2,C)$. Ruhl's definition of $T^{(\pm)}$ in terms of analyticity and asymptotic properties is shown to be equivalent to the recently introduced Feynman $i\varepsilon$ prescription in spinfoams. We show that, equivalently, they can be represented as an integral over eigenvalues of the boost operator, which results in a sum over residues. The latter reproduces the Wick rotation relating Euclidean $Spin(4)$ to Lorentzian $SL(2,C)$ spinfoams studied by Dona, Gozzini and Nicotra. We provide explicit expressions in terms of hypergeometric functions and specialize them to the $\gamma$-simple representations relevant for spinfoams.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2026

Causal spinfoam vertex for 4d Lorentzian quantum gravity

We introduce a new causal spinfoam vertex for $4$d Lorentzian quantum gravity. The causal data are encoded in Toller $T$-matrices, which add to Wigner $D$-matrices $T^{(+)}+T^{(-)}=D$, and for which we provide a Feynman $\mathrm{i}\varepsilon$ representation. We discuss how the Toller poles cancel in the EPRL vertex, how the Livine-Oriti model is obtained in the Barrett-Crane limit, and how spinfoam causal data are distinct from Regge causal data. In the large-spin limit, we show that only Lorentzian Regge geometries with causal data compatible with the spinfoam data are selected, resulting in a single exponential $\exp(+\mathrm{i}\, S_{\mathrm{Regge}}/\hbar)$ and a new form of causal rigidity.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Precision predictions of Starobinsky inflation with self-consistent Weyl-squared corrections

Starobinsky's $R+\alpha R^2$ inflation provides a compelling one-parameter inflationary model that is supported by current cosmological observations. However, at the same order in spacetime derivatives as the $R^2$ term, an effective theory of spacetime geometry must also include the Weyl-squared curvature invariant $W^2$. In this paper, we study the inflationary predictions of the gravitational theory with action of the form $R+\alpha R^2 - \beta W^2$, where the coupling constant $\alpha$ sets the scale of inflation, and corrections due to the $W^2$ term are treated self-consistently via reduction of order in an expansion in the coupling constant $\beta$, at the linear order in $\beta/\alpha$. Cosmological perturbations are found to be described by an effective action with a nontrivial speed of sound $c_{\textrm{s}}$ for scalar and $c_{\textrm{t}}$ for tensor modes, satisfying the relation $c_{\textrm{t}}/c_{\textrm{s}} \simeq 1+ \frac{\beta}{6\, \alpha}$ during the inflationary phase. Within this self-consistent framework, we compute several primordial observables up to the next-to-next-to-next-to leading order (N3LO). We find the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r \simeq 3(1-\frac{\beta}{6\alpha})(n_\textrm{s}-1)^2$, the tensor tilt $n_{\textrm{t}}\simeq-\frac{r}{8}$ and the running of the scalar tilt $\mathfrak{a}_{\textrm{s}}\simeq-\frac{1}{2} (n_{\textrm{s}} - 1)^2$, all expressed in terms of the observed scalar tilt $n_{\textrm{s}}$. We also provide the corresponding corrections up to N3LO, $\mathcal{O}((n_{\textrm{s}} - 1)^3)$.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Squeezed vacua and primordial features in effective theories of inflation at N2LO

A finite duration of cosmic inflation can result in features $\mathcal{P}_{\mathcal{R}}(k) = |\alpha_k-\beta_k\,\mathrm{e}^{\mathrm{i}\delta_k}|^2 \,\mathcal{P}_{\mathcal{R}}^{(0)}(k)$ in the primordial power spectrum that carry information about a quantum gravity phase before inflation. While the almost scale-invariant power spectrum $\mathcal{P}_{\mathcal{R}}^{(0)}$ for the quasi-Bunch-Davies vacuum is fully determined by the inflationary background dynamics, the Bogoliubov coefficients $\alpha_k$ and $\beta_k$ for the squeezed vacuum depend on new physics beyond inflation and have been used to produce phenomenological templates for the features. The phase $\delta_k$ vanishes in de Sitter space and therefore is often neglected, but it results in non-trivial effects in quasi-de Sitter inflationary geometries. Here we consider a large class of effective theories of inflation and provide a closed-form expression for $\delta_k$ and for the fully expanded power spectrum up to next-to-next-leading order (N2LO) in the Hubble-flow expansion. In particular, for the Starobinsky model of inflation we find that this relative phase can be expressed in terms of the scalar tilt $n_\mathrm{s}$ as $\delta_{k\ast}=\frac{\pi}{2}(n_\mathrm{s}-1)-\frac{\pi}{4}(n_\mathrm{s}-1)^2\,\ln(k/k_*)$. The relative phase results in a negative shift and a running frequency that have been considered in the most studied phenomenological templates for primordial features, thus providing precise theoretical predictions for upcoming cosmological observations.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Primordial power spectrum at N3LO in effective theories of inflation

We develop a systematic framework to compute the primordial power spectrum up to next-to-next-to-next to leading order (N3LO) in the Hubble-flow parameters for a large class of effective theories of inflation. We assume that the quadratic action for perturbations is characterized by two functions of time, the kinetic amplitude and the speed of sound, that are independent of the Fourier mode $k$. Using the Green's function method introduced by Stewart and Gong and extended by Auclair and Ringeval, we determine the primordial power spectrum fully expanded around a pivot scale up to N3LO, starting from a given generic action for perturbations. As a check, we reproduce the state-of-the-art results for scalar and the tensor power spectra of the simplest "vanilla" models of single-field inflation. The framework applies to Weinberg's effective field theory of inflation (with the condition of no parity violation) and to the effective theory of spontaneous de Sitter-symmetry breaking. As a concrete application, we provide the expression for the N3LO power spectrum of $R+R^2$ Starobinsky inflation in metric variables. All expressions are provided in terms of an expansion in one single parameter, the number of inflationary e-foldings $N_\ast$. Surprisingly, we find that, compared to previous leading-order calculations, for $N_\ast = 55$ the N3LO correction results in a $7\%$ decrease of the predicted tensor-to-scalar ratio, in addition to a deviation from the consistency relation and a prediction of a negative running $\alpha_\mathrm{s}=-\frac{1}{2}(n_\mathrm{s}-1)^2+\ldots$ of the scalar tilt. These results provide precise theoretical predictions for the next generation of CMB observations.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

Slow-roll inflation in f(R,T) gravity and a modified Starobinsky-like inflationary model

In this work, we studied the slow-roll approximation of cosmic inflation within the context of $f(R,T)$ gravity, where $R$ is the scalar curvature, and $T$ is the trace of the energy-momentum tensor. By choosing a minimal coupling between matter and gravity, we obtained the modified slow-roll parameters, the scalar spectral index ($n_s$), the tensor spectral index ($n_{\textrm{T}}$), and the tensor-to-scalar ratio ($r$). We computed these quantities for a general power-law potential, Natural & Quartic Hilltop inflation, and the Starobinsky model, plotting the trajectories on the $(n_s,r)$ plane. We found that one of the parameters of Natural/Hilltop models is non-trivially modified. Besides, if the coupling is in the interval $-0.5 < α< 5.54$, we concluded that the Starobinsky-like model predictions are in good agreement with the last Planck measurement, but with the advantage of allowing a wide range of admissible values for $r$ and $n_{\textrm{T}}$.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2020

A nontrivial footprint of standard cosmology in the future observations of low-frequency gravitational waves

Recent research show that the cosmological components of the Universe should influence on the propagation of Gravitational Waves (GWs) and even it has been proposed a new way to measure the cosmological constant using Pulsar Timing Arrays (PTAs). However, these results have considered very particular cases (e.g. a de Sitter Universe or a mixing with non-relativistic matter). In this work we propose an extension of these results, using the Hubble constant as the natural parameter that includes all the cosmological information and studying its effect on the propagation of GWs. Using linearized gravity we considered a mixture of perfect fluids permeating the spacetime and studied the propagation of GWs within the context of the LCDM model. We found from numerical simulations that the timing residual of local pulsars should present a distinguishable peak depending on the local value of the Hubble constant. As a consequence, when assuming the standard LCDM model, our result predicts that the region of maximum timing residual is determined by the redshift of the source. This framework represents a new test for the standard cosmological model, and it can be used to facilitate the measurements of gravitational wave by ongoing PTAs projects.

astro-ph.CO↗