Gupta-Bleuler quantization for minimally coupled scalar fields in de Sitter space

Abstract

We present a fully covariant quantization of the minimally coupled massless field on de Sitter space, thanks to a new representation of the canonical commutation relations. We thus obtain a formalism free of any infrared divergence. Our method is based on a rigorous group-theoretical approach combined with a suitable adaptation (Krein spaces) of the Wightman-Gärding axiomatic for massless fields (Gupta-Bleuler scheme). We make explicit the correspondence between unitary irreducible representations of the de Sitter group and the field theory on de Sitter spacetime. The minimally coupled massless field is associated with a representation which is the lowest term of the discrete series of unitary representations of the de Sitter group. In spite of the presence of negative-norm modes in the theory, no negative energy can be measured: expressions such as nk1nk2 ... |T00|nk1nk2 ... are always positive.