Taming the {alpha}-vacuum

Journal Article · Fri Oct 15 04:00:00 EDT 2004 · Physical Review. D, Particles Fields

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.70.084019· OSTI ID:20705489

Collins, Hael; Holman, R ^[1]

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1. Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 (United States)

An interacting scalar field theory in de Sitter space appears to be nonrenormalizable for a generic {alpha}-vacuum state. This pathology arises since the usual propagator used allows for a constructive interference among propagators in loop corrections, which produces divergences that are not proportional to standard counterterms. This interference can be avoided by defining a new propagator for the {alpha}-vacuum based on a generalized time-ordering prescription. The generating functional associated with this propagator contains a source that couples to the field both at a point and at its antipode. To one loop order, we show that a set of theories with very general antipodal interactions is causal and renormalizable.

• OSTI ID: 20705489
• Journal Information: Physical Review. D, Particles Fields, Journal Name: Physical Review. D, Particles Fields Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 70; ISSN PRVDAQ; ISSN 0556-2821
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
CORRECTIONS
COSMOLOGY
DE SITTER GROUP
INTERFERENCE
PROPAGATOR
QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
RENORMALIZATION
SCALAR FIELDS
SPACE-TIME
VACUUM STATES