arXiv subjects

N. Tetradis

Publications and source records attributed to N. Tetradis.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A simple mechanism for the enhancement of the inflationary power spectrum

The background evolution in two-field inflation can feature two distinct stages, corresponding to the evolution along two successive field directions. When the second stage occurs at a significantly lower energy scale, the inflationary trajectory includes a sharp transition, accompanied by a series of rapid turns in field space. Fluctuations crossing the Hubble horizon during this turning phase can experience amplification by several orders of magnitude. This mechanism is very intuitive and can be implemented even in simple two-field models. It produces a peak in the scalar power spectrum that can lead to significant abundances of primordial black holes and secondary gravitational waves.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

The effect of multiple features on the power spectrum in two-field inflation

We extend our previous work on the enhancement of the curvature spectrum during inflation to the two-field case. We identify the slow-roll parameter $η$ as the quantity that can trigger the rapid growth of perturbations. Its two components, $η_\parallel$ along the background trajectory and $η_\perp$ perpendicular to it, remain small during most of the evolution, apart from short intervals during which they take large, positive or negative, values. The typical reason for the appearance of strong features in $η_\parallel$ is sharp steps or inflection points in the inflaton potential, while $η_\perp$ grows large during sharp turns in field space. We focus on the additive effect of several features leading to the resonant growth of the curvature spectrum. Three or four features in the evolution of $η$ are sufficient in order to induce an enhancement of the power spectrum by six or seven orders of magnitude, which can lead to the significant production of primordial black holes and stochastic gravitational waves. A big part of our study focuses on understanding the evolution of the perturbations and the resulting spectra through analytic means. The presence of multiple features in the background evolution points to a more complex inflationary paradigm, which is also more natural in the multi-field case. The critical examination of this possibility is within the reach of experiment.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

Spectrum oscillations from features in the potential of single-field inflation

We study single-field inflationary models with steep step-like features in the potential that lead to the temporary violation of the slow-roll conditions during the evolution of the inflaton. These features enhance the power spectrum of the curvature perturbations by several orders of magnitude at certain scales and also produce prominent oscillatory patterns. We study analytically and numerically the inflationary dynamics. We describe quantitatively the size of the enhancement, as well as the profile of the oscillations, which are shaped by the number and position of the features in the potential. The induced tensor power spectrum inherits the distinctive oscillatory profile of the curvature spectrum and is potentially detectable by near-future space interferometers. The enhancement of the power specrtum by step-like features, though significant, may be insufficient to trigger the production of a sizeable number of primordial black holes if radiation dominates the energy density of the early universe. However, it can result in sufficient black hole production if the universe is dominated by non-relativistic matter. For the latter scenario, we find that deviations from the standard monochromatic profile of the mass spectrum of primordial black holes are possible because of the multiple-peak structure of the curvature power spectrum.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Entanglement entropy in FRW backgrounds

We use holography in order to study the entanglement entropy for a spherical entangling surface in a FRW background with an arbitrary time dependence of the scale factor. The calculation is done in various dimensions, allowing for nonzero spatial curvature. The entanglement entropy of a CFT at nonzero temperature in this background is also considered. Our approach is based on coordinate transformations that relate the extremization problem to the one for a static background, with a careful determination of the UV cutoff. We demonstrate the agreement with the expected form of the entanglement entropy and with various known results in specific cases. In four dimensions, apart from the cutoff-dependent terms, we compute and discuss the finite term related to the expansion rate.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Features of the inflaton potential and the power spectrum of cosmological perturbations

We discuss features of the inflaton potential that can lead to a strong enhancement of the power spectrum of curvature perturbations. We show that a steep decrease of the potential induces an enhancement of the spectrum by several orders of magnitude, which may lead to the production of primordial black holes. The same feature can also create a distinctive oscillatory pattern in the spectrum of gravitational waves generated through the scalar perturbations at second order. We study the additive effect of several such features. We analyse a simplified potential, but also discuss the possible application to supergravity models.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

Entanglement entropy, horizons and holography

We calculate the entanglement entropy in spaces with horizons, such as Rindler or de Sitter space, using holography. We employ appropriate parametrizations of AdS space in order to obtain a Rindler or static de Sitter boundary metric. The holographic entanglement entropy for the regions enclosed by the horizons can be identified with the standard thermal entropy of these spaces. For this to hold, we define the effective Newton's constant appropriately and account for the way the AdS space is covered by the parametrizations.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Multicritical points of the O(N) scalar theory in $2<d<4$ for large N

We solve analytically the renormalization-group equation for the potential of the O(N)-symmetric scalar theory in the large-N limit and in dimensions 2<d<4, in order to look for nonperturbative fixed points that were found numerically in a recent study. We find new real solutions with singularities in the higher derivatives of the potential at its minimum, and complex solutions with branch cuts along the negative real axis.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2017

On the Catalysis of the Electroweak Vacuum Decay by Black Holes at High Temperature

We study the effect of primordial black holes on the classical rate of nucleation of AdS regions within the standard electroweak vacuum at high temperature. We find that the energy barrier for transitions to the new vacuum, which determines the exponential suppression of the nucleation rate, can be reduced significantly, or even eliminated completely, in the black-hole background if the Standard Model Higgs is coupled to gravity through the renormalizable term $ξ{\cal R} h^2$.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Effective description of dark matter as a viscous fluid

Treating dark matter at large scales as an effectively viscous fluid provides an improved framework for the calculation of the density and velocity power spectra compared to the standard assumption of an ideal pressureless fluid. We discuss how this framework can be made concrete through an appropriate coarse-graining procedure. We also review results that demonstrate that it improves the convergence of cosmological perturbation theory.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2014

Quantum corrections in Galileon theories

We calculate the one-loop quantum corrections in the cubic Galileon theory, using cutoff regularization. We confirm the expected form of the one-loop effective action and that the couplings of the Galileon theory do not get renormalized. However, new terms, not included in the tree-level action, are induced by quantum corrections. We also consider the one-loop corrections in an effective brane theory, which belongs to the Horndeski or generalized Galileon class. We find that new terms are generated by quantum corrections, while the tree-level couplings are also renormalized. We conclude that the structure of the generalized Galileon theories is altered by quantum corrections more radically than that of the Galileon theory.

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

Constraining Dark Energy through the Stability of Cosmic Structures

For a general dark-energy equation of state, we estimate the maximum possible radius of massive structures that are not destabilized by the acceleration of the cosmological expansion. A comparison with known stable structures constrains the equation of state. The robustness of the constraint can be enhanced through the accumulation of additional astrophysical data and a better understanding of the dynamics of bound cosmic structures.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2014

Non-linear Matter Spectrum for a Variable Equation of State

We study the growth of matter perturbations beyond the linear level in cosmologies in which the dark energy has a variable equation of state. The non-linear corrections result in shifts in the positions of the maximum, minima and nodes of the spectrum within the range of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations. These can be used in order to distinguish theories with different late-time variability of the equation of state.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2014

Nonlinear matter spectra in growing neutrino quintessence

We investigate the nonlinear power spectra of density perturbations and acoustic oscillations in growing neutrino quintessence. In this scenario, the neutrino mass has a strong dependence on the quintessence field. The induced coupling stops the evolution of the field when the neutrinos become nonrelativistic, and triggers the transition to the accelerating phase of the cosmological expansion. At redshifts around five, the neutrino fluctuations are still linear and acoustic oscillations are present in the neutrino power spectrum, induced by the acoustic oscillations in the baryonic and dark-matter sectors. The neutrino perturbations become nonlinear at redshifts around three. The mode coupling generated by the nonlinearities erases the oscillations in the neutrino spectrum at some redshift above two. There is a potential danger that at later times the influence of the gravitational potentials induced by the neutrino inhomogeneities could erase the oscillations from the baryonic and dark-matter spectra, making the scenario incompatible with observations. For the scenario to be viable, the neutrino-induced gravitational potentials in the range of baryonic acoustic oscillations should not grow to average values much larger than 10^{-4}. The magnitude of the expected potentials is still not known reliably, as the process of structure formation is poorly understood in growing neutrino quintessence.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2014

Non-linear Matter Spectra in Coupled Quintessence

We consider cosmologies in which a dark-energy scalar field interacts with cold dark matter. The growth of perturbations is followed beyond the linear level by means of the time-renormalization-group method, which is extended to describe a multi-component matter sector. Even in the absence of the extra interaction, a scale-dependent bias is generated as a consequence of the different initial conditions for baryons and dark matter after decoupling. The effect is enhanced significantly by the extra coupling and can be at the 2-3 percent level in the range of scales of baryonic acoustic oscillations. We compare our results with N-body simulations, finding very good agreement.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

The renormalization of fluctuating branes, the Galileon and asymptotic safety

We consider the renormalization of d-dimensional hypersurfaces (branes) embedded in flat (d+1)-dimensional space. We parametrize the truncated effective action in terms of geometric invariants built from the extrinsic and intrinsic curvatures. We study the renormalization-group running of the couplings and explore the fixed-point structure. We find evidence for an ultraviolet fixed point similar to the one underlying the asymptotic-safety scenario of gravity. We also examine whether the structure of the Galileon theory, which can be reproduced in the nonrelativistic limit, is preserved at the quantum level.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Classical Solutions of Higher-Derivative Theories

We present exact classical solutions of the higher-derivative theory that describes the dynamics of the position modulus of a probe brane within a five-dimensional bulk. The solutions can be interpreted as static or time-dependent throats connecting two parallel branes. In the nonrelativistic limit the brane action is reduced to that of the Galileon theory. We derive exact solutions for the Galileon, which reproduce correctly the shape of the throats at large distances, but fail to do so for their central part. We also determine the parameter range for which the Vainshtein mechanism is reproduced within the brane theory.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Shock waves as branes with throats

We discuss the properties of a class of exact dynamical solutions of the DBI action in various dimensions. They can be interpreted as shock waves of the nonlinear theory. They can also describe two parallel branes connected by a throat within a Minkowski bulk. We analyze issues related to the conservation of energy in these systems. We also discuss possible applications in particle physics and cosmology.

hep-th↗

arXiv2012

Classicalization as a tunnelling phenomenon

We discuss the "wrong"-sign DBI theory as a prototype for classicalization. The theory lacks a UV completion and has to be defined with a fundamental UV cutoff. We study a quantum-mechanical toy model with similar properties. The model has a fundamental length scale and all physical states have momenta below the inverse of this scale. We show that, despite the terminology, the phenomenon of classicalization is of a quantum nature. Within the toy model it consists essentially of tunnelling through a region that is classically forbidden. The size of this region is proportional to the square root of the energy and can be much larger than the fundamental length scale. We discuss the implications for classicalization in scalar field theories.

hep-th↗