New Exceptional Effective Field Theories in de Sitter Space from Generalized Energy Conservation

Area of Science:

• Theoretical physics
• High-energy physics
• Cosmology

Background:

• Effective field theories (EFTs) are crucial for describing physical phenomena at different energy scales.
• De Sitter space is a key model for understanding the accelerated expansion of the universe.
• The S matrix formalism is used to describe scattering processes in quantum field theory.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the relationship between exceptional EFTs in de Sitter space and generalized energy conservation (GEC).
• To constrain coupling constants in theories of self-interacting scalars within de Sitter representations.
• To identify new exceptional EFTs based on GEC principles.

Main Methods:

• Defining an S matrix in an extended Poincaré patch of four-dimensional de Sitter space.
• Imposing the condition of generalized energy conservation (total in-state energy equals total out-state energy).
• Analyzing self-interacting scalar theories within the exceptional series of de Sitter representations.

Main Results:

• A surprising relationship between exceptional EFTs and GEC was discovered.
• Theories of Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) and special Galileon were rediscovered.
• Evidence for new exceptional theories with uniquely fixed four-point scalar self-interactions was found as conformal dimension increases.

Conclusions:

• Generalized energy conservation provides a powerful constraint on exceptional EFTs in de Sitter space.
• New classes of exceptional EFTs are predicted for each integer conformal dimension Δ≥4.
• This work opens avenues for further exploration of fundamental physics in de Sitter backgrounds.