Engineering topics
Joyce, Austin
Publications and source records attributed to Joyce, Austin.
Inflation in Flatland
We investigate the symmetry structure of inflation in 2+1 dimensions. In particular, we show that the asymptotic symmetries of three-dimensional de Sitter space are in one-to-one correspondence with cosmological adiabatic modes for the curvature perturbation. In 2+1 dimensions, the asymptotic symmetry algebra is infinite-dimensional, given by two copies of the Virasoro algebra, and can be traced to the conformal symmetries of the two-dimensional spatial slices of de Sitter. We study the consequences of this infinite-dimensional symmetry for inflationary correlation functions, finding new soft theorems that hold only in 2+1 dimensions. Expanding the correlation functions as a power series in the soft momentum q , these relations constrain the traceless part of the tensorial coefficient at each order in q in terms of a lower-point function. As a check, we verify that the O( q {sup 2}) identity is satisfied by inflationary correlation functions in the limit of small sound speed.
Aspects of Galileon non-renormalization
We discuss non-renormalization theorems applying to galileon field theories and their generalizations. Galileon theories are similar in many respects to other derivatively coupled effective field theories, including general relativity and P ( X ) theories. In particular, these other theories also enjoy versions of non-renormalization theorems that protect certain operators against corrections from self-loops. Furthermore, we argue that the galileons are distinguished by the fact that they are not renormalized even by loops of other heavy fields whose couplings respect the galileon symmetry.
Double screening
Attempts to modify gravity in the infrared typically require a screening mechanism to ensure consistency with local tests of gravity. These screening mechanisms fit into three broad classes; we investigate theories which are capable of exhibiting more than one type of screening. Specifically, we focus on a simple model which exhibits both Vainshtein and kinetic screening. We point out that due to the two characteristic length scales in the problem, the type of screening that dominates depends on the mass of the sourcing object, allowing for different phenomenology at different scales. We consider embedding this double screening phenomenology in a broader cosmological scenario and show that the simplest examples that exhibit double screening are radiatively stable.