2018/09/11 by G. Moreau, Gabriel Moreau, Julien Serreau +1
Physics and Astronomy · #Anti-de Sitter space #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Classical mechanics #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Curvature #De Sitter space #De Sitter universe #Geometry #Gravitation #Mathematical physics #Physics #Quantum #Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect #Quantum electrodynamics #Quantum field theory in curved spacetime #Quantum gravity #Quantum mechanics #Renormalization #Renormalization group #Scalar (mathematics) #Scalar curvature #Scalar field #Spacetime #Universe #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevd.99.025011
published as Phys. Rev. D 99, 025011 (2019) · 12 pages, 8 figures
arxiv created 2018/09/11 · openalex created_date 2018/09/27 · openalex publication_date 2019/01/25 · arxiv updated 2019/01/30 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We study the backreaction of gravitationally amplified quantum fluctuations of scalar fields on a classical de Sitter geometry. We formulate the problem in the framework of the Wilsonian renormalization group, which allows us to treat the scalar field fluctuations in a nonperturbative manner and to follow the renormalization flow of the spacetime curvature as long wavelength, superhorizon fluctuations are progressively integrated out. For light fields in units of the spacetime curvature, these are described by an effective zero-dimensional field theory and can essentially be computed analytically. A nontrivial flow of the spacetime curvature is induced either by a nonminimal coupling to gravity or by self-interaction. The latter leads to a decrease of the spacetime curvature through loop effects, which, for minimally coupled, massless fields, grow unbounded in the infrared. However, such large loop contributions are eventually screened by the dynamical generation of a nonperturbative, gravitationally induced mass and the renormalization of the spacetime curvature saturates to a nonzero value. Finally, we show that, in the case of spontaneously broken continuous symmetries, the Goldstone modes do not contribute to the infrared flow of the spacetime curvature, despite being strongly amplified by the gravitational field.