arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Shun-Pei Miao.
We compute the fully renormalized one-graviton-loop contribution to the self-mass of a massive scalar field in de Sitter space. The computation is performed using dimensional regularization and the divergences are absorbed by BPHZ counterterms. This self-mass can be used to study one-loop quantum-gravitational corrections to the dynamics of massive spectator scalars in inflation.
We investigate gauge dependence of one-graviton-loop corrections to the effective field equation of the massless, minimally coupled scalar in de Sitter, obtained by including source and observer corrections to the effective self-mass correcting the equation. Using the $Δα$ variation of the de Sitter-breaking graviton propagator in a one-parameter family of gauges, we compute the gauge-dependent contributions to the effective self-mass of a massless minimally coupled scalar mediating interactions between heavy scalars. We show that gauge dependence cancels provided the contributions from all diagram classes are collected, including one-loop corrections to external mode functions, which play a qualitatively new role relative to flat space. The resulting cancellation supports the construction of graviton gauge-independent cosmological quantum-gravitational observables from quantum-corrected effective equations.
Astronomers seem to be observing the fossilized remnants of quantum gravitational processes which took place during the epoch of {\it primordial inflation} that is conjectured to have occurred during the first $10^{-32}$ seconds of cosmic history. We give a non-technical description of what causes these processes and how they become preserved to survive to the current epoch. We also discuss some of the secondary effects which should result.
We consider the one-loop effective action due to gravitons in a FLRW background with constant epsilon=-(dH/dt)/H^2. By expanding around epsilon=0 (corresponding to an expansion around de Sitter space), we can study how the deviation from de Sitter space effects the quantum corrected Friedmann equations. We find that, at zeroth order in epsilon, one-loop effects induce only a finite shift in the coupling constants. At linear order in epsilon there is however a divergent contribution to the equations of motion. This contribution leads to a nontrivial term in the renormalized equations that depends logarithmically on H and thus cannot be absorbed in local counterterms. We find that deviations due to this term are unobservably small. Our study shows that quantum effects in quasi de Sitter space can be fundamentally different then in de Sitter space, albeit in the case under consideration the effect is unobservably small.
We present a relatively simple operator formalism which reproduces the leading infrared logarithm of the one loop quantum gravitational correction to the fermion mode function on a locally de Sitter background. This rule may serve as the basis for an eventual stochastic formulation of quantum gravity during inflation. Such a formalism would not only effect a vast simplification in obtaining the leading powers of $\ln(a)$ at fixed loop orders, it would also permit us to sum the series of leading logarithms. A potentially important point is that our rule does not seem to be consistent with any simple infrared truncation of the fields. Our analysis also highlights the importance of spin as a gravitational interaction that persists even when kinetic energy has redshifted to zero.
We solve the effective Dirac equation for massless fermions during inflation in the simplest gauge, including all one loop corrections from quantum gravity. At late times the result for a spatial plane wave behaves as if the classical solution were subjected to a time dependent field strength renormalization of Z_2(t) = 1 - \frac{17}{4 π} G H^2 \ln(a) + O(G^2). We show that this also follows from making the Hartree approximation, although the numerical coefficients differ.
We generalize Starobinskii's stochastic technique to the theory of a massless, minimally coupled scalar interacting with a massless fermion in a locally de Sitter geometry. The scalar is an ``active'' field that can engender infrared logarithms. The fermion is a ``passive'' field that cannot cause infrared logarithms but which can carry them, and which can also induce new interactions between the active fields. The procedure for dealing with passive fields is to integrate them out, then stochastically simplify the resulting effective action following Starobinski\uı. Because Yukawa theory is quadratic in the fermion this can be done explicitly using the classic solution of Candelas and Raine. We check the resulting stochastic formulation against an explicit two loop computation. We also derive a nonperturbative, leading log result for the stress tensor. Because the scalar effective potential induced by fermions is unbounded below, back-reaction from this model might dynamically cancel an arbitrarily large cosmological constant.
My project computed the one loop fermion self-energy for massless Dirac + Einstein in the presence of a locally de Sitter background. I employed dimensional regularization and obtain a fully renormalized result by absorbing all divergences with Bogliubov, Parasiuk, Hepp and Zimmermann (BPHZ) counterterms. An interesting technical aspect of my computation was the need for a noninvariant counterterm, owing to the breaking of de Sitter invariance by our gauge condition. I also solved the effective Dirac equation for massless fermions during inflation in the simplest gauge, including all one loop corrections from quantum gravity. At late times the result for a spatial plane wave behaves as if the classical solution were subjected to a time-dependent field strength renormalization of Z_2(t) = 1 - 17(4 pi) *G H^2 *ln(a) + O(G^2). I showed that this also follows from making the Hartree approximation, although the numerical coefficients differ.
We compute the one loop fermion self-energy for massless Dirac + Einstein in the presence of a locally de Sitter background. We employ dimensional regularization and obtain a fully renormalized result by absorbing all divergences with BPHZ counterterms. An interesting technical aspect of this computation is the need for a noninvariant counterterm owing to the breaking of de Sitter invariance by our gauge condition. Our result can be used in the quantum-corrected Dirac equation to search for inflation-enhanced quantum effects from gravitons, analogous to those which have been found for massless, minimally coupled scalars.
In this paper we try to construct noncommutative Yang-Mills theory for generic Poisson manifolds. It turns out that the noncommutative differential calculus defined in an old work is exactly what we need. Using this calculus, we generalize results about the Seiberg-Witten map, the Dirac-Born-Infeld action, the matrix model and the open string quantization for constant B field to non-constant background with H=0.