Published March 15, 2011 | Version v1
Journal article

Ultraviolet divergences in cosmological correlations

  • 1. Theory Group, Department of Physics, University of Texas Austin, Texas, 78712 (United States)

Description

A method is developed for dealing with ultraviolet divergences in calculations of cosmological correlations, which does not depend on dimensional regularization. An extended version of the WKB approximation is used to analyze the divergences in these calculations, and these divergences are controlled by the introduction of Pauli-Villars regulator fields. This approach is illustrated in the theory of a scalar field with arbitrary self-interactions in a fixed flat-space Robertson-Walker metric with arbitrary scale factor a(t). Explicit formulas are given for the counterterms needed to cancel all dependence on the regulator properties, and an explicit prescription is given for calculating finite regulator-independent correlation functions. The possibility of infrared divergences in this theory is briefly considered.

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Physical Review. D, Particles Fields
Journal Volume
83
Journal Issue
6
Journal Page Range
p. 063508-063508.13
ISSN
0556-2821
CODEN
PRVDAQ

INIS

Optional Information

Notes
(c) 2011 American Institute of Physics