2006/12/03 by Björn Garbrecht, Bjorn Garbrecht
Physics and Astronomy · #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies #hep-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysb.2007.06.013
published as Nucl.Phys.B784:118-131,2007 · 14 pages
arxiv created 2006/12/03 · openalex publication_date 2007/06/28 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The one-loop effective potential for a charged scalar field in de Sitter background is studied. We derive an approximate form for the gauge boson propagator with a general covariant gauge-fixing parameter ξ. This expression is used to derive an explicitly gauge-invariant effective potential, which agrees with earlier results obtained in Landau gauge. Adding the scalar- and fermion-loop contributions, that arise in a supersymmetric Higgs model, we find that the effective potential is vanishing to first order in the Hubble rate H2. The contribution due to a chiral multiplet running in the loop is however non-vanishing. When applied to a flat direction of the MSSM with VEV w, a logarithmically running correction of order h2 H2 w2 arises, where h is Yukawa coupling. This is of particular importance for D-term inflation or models endowed with a Heisenberg symmetry, where Hubble scale mass terms for flat directions from supergravity corrections are absent.