28 research outputs found
Nonlinear curvature perturbations in an exactly soluble model of multi-component slow-roll inflation
Using the nonlinear formalism, we consider a simple exactly
soluble model of multi-component slow-roll inflation in which the nonlinear
curvature perturbation can be evaluated analytically.Comment: 4 pages, no figure, typos corrected, references added, final version
to be published in CQ
Non-gaussianity from the inflationary trispectrum
We present an estimate for the non-linear parameter \tau_NL, which measures
the non-gaussianity imprinted in the trispectrum of the comoving curvature
perturbation, \zeta. Our estimate is valid throughout the inflationary era,
until the slow-roll approximation breaks down, and takes into account the
evolution of perturbations on superhorizon scales. We find that the
non-gaussianity is always small if the field values at the end of inflation are
negligible when compared to their values at horizon crossing. Under the same
assumption, we show that in Nflation-type scenarios, where the potential is a
sum of monomials, the non-gaussianity measured by \tau_NL is independent of the
couplings and initial conditions.Comment: 15 pages, uses iopart.sty. Replaced with version accepted by JCAP;
journal reference adde
The inflationary trispectrum
We calculate the trispectrum of the primordial curvature perturbation
generated by an epoch of slow-roll inflation in the early universe, and
demonstrate that the non-gaussian signature imprinted at horizon crossing is
unobservably small, of order tau_NL < r/50, where r < 1 is the tensor-to-scalar
ratio. Therefore any primordial non-gaussianity observed in future microwave
background experiments is likely to have been synthesized by gravitational
effects on superhorizon scales. We discuss the application of Maldacena's
consistency condition to the trispectrum.Comment: 23 pages, 2 diagrams drawn with feynmp.sty, uses iopart.cls. v2,
replaced with version accepted by JCAP. Estimate of maximal tau_NL refined in
Section 5, resulting in smaller numerical value. Sign errors in Eq. (44) and
Eq. (48) corrected. Some minor notational change
Diagrammatic approach to non-Gaussianity from inflation
We present Feynman type diagrams for calculating the n-point function of the
primordial curvature perturbation in terms of scalar field perturbations during
inflation. The diagrams can be used to evaluate the corresponding terms in the
n-point function at tree level or any required loop level. Rules are presented
for drawing the diagrams and writing down the corresponding terms in real space
and Fourier space. We show that vertices can be renormalised to automatically
account for diagrams with dressed vertices. We apply these rules to calculate
the primordial power spectrum up to two loops, the bispectrum including loop
corrections, and the trispectrum.Comment: 17 pages, 13 figures. v2: Comments and references added, v3:
Introduction expanded, subsection on evaluating loop diagrams added, minor
errors corrected, references adde
Conditions for large non-Gaussianity in two-field slow-roll inflation
We study the level of primordial non-Gaussianity in slow-roll two-field
inflation. Using an analytic formula for the nonlinear parameter f_nl in the
case of a sum or product separable potential, we find that it is possible to
generate significant non-Gaussianity even during slow-roll inflation with
Gaussian perturbations at Hubble exit. In this paper we give the general
conditions to obtain large non-Gaussianity and calculate the level of
fine-tuning required to obtain this. We present explicit models in which the
non-Gaussianity at the end of inflation can exceed the current observational
bound of |f_nl|<100.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, v2: typos corrected and references
added, matches version accepted by JCA
Conservation of the nonlinear curvature perturbation in generic single-field inflation
It is known that the curvature perturbation on uniform energy density (or
comoving or uniform Hubble) slices on superhorizon scales is conserved to full
nonlinear order if the pressure is only a function of the energy density (ie,
if the perturbation is purely adiabatic), independent of the gravitational
theory. Here we explicitly show that the same conservation holds for a universe
dominated by a single scalar field provided that the field is in an attractor
regime, for a very general class of scalar field theories. However, we also
show that if the scalar field equation contains a second time derivative of the
metric, as in the case of the Galileon theory, one has to invoke the
gravitational field equations to show the conservation.Comment: 6 pages, minor revisions made but conclusion unchanged, references
added, to be published in CQG as a fast track communicatio
Non-Gaussianity in Multi-field Stochastic Inflation with the Scaling Approximation
The statistics of multi-field inflation are investigated using the stochastic
approach. We analytically obtain the probability distribution function of
fields with the scaling approximation by extending the previous work by
Amendola. The non-Gaussian nature of the probability distribution function is
investigated decomposing the fields into the adiabatic and isocurvature
components. We find that the non-Gaussianity of the isocurvature component can
be large compared with that of the adiabatic component. The adiabatic and
isocurvature components may be correlated at nonlinear order in the skewness
and kurtosis even if uncorrelated at linear level.Comment: To appear in JCAP, references adde
A general proof of the equivalence between the \delta N and covariant formalisms
Recently, the equivalence between the \delta N and covariant formalisms has
been shown (Suyama et al. 2012), but they essentially assumed Einstein gravity
in their proof. They showed that the evolution equation of the curvature
covector in the covariant formalism on uniform energy density slicings
coincides with that of the curvature perturbation in the \delta N formalism
assuming the coincidence of uniform energy and uniform expansion (Hubble)
slicings, which is the case on superhorizon scales in Einstein gravity. In this
short note, we explicitly show the equivalence between the \delta N and
covariant formalisms without specifying the slicing condition and the
associated slicing coincidence, in other words, regardless of the gravity
theory.Comment: 7 pages,a reference added, to be published in EP
Super-horizon perturbations and preheating
We discuss the evolution of linear perturbations about a
Friedmann-Robertson-Walker background metric, using only the local conservation
of energy-momentum. We show that on sufficiently large scales the curvature
perturbation on spatial hypersurfaces of uniform-density is constant when the
non-adiabatic pressure perturbation is negligible. We clarify the conditions
under which super-horizon curvature perturbations may vary, using preheating as
an example.Comment: 4 pages, talk presented at "Cosmology and Particle Physics 2000",
Verbier (Switzerland), 17-28 July 200
One-loop corrections to a scalar field during inflation
The leading quantum correction to the power spectrum of a
gravitationally-coupled light scalar field is calculated, assuming that it is
generated during a phase of single-field, slow-roll inflation.Comment: 33 pages, uses feynmp.sty and ioplatex journal style. v2: matches
version published in JCAP. v3: corrects sign error in Eq. (58). Corrects
final coefficient of the logarithm in Eq. (105). Small corrections to
discussion of divergences in 1-point function. Minor improvements to
discussion of UV behaviour in Sec. 4.