Ultraviolet regularization in de Sitter space

Abstract

The ultraviolet regularization of Yukawa theory in de Sitter space is considered. We rederive the one-loop effective Candelas-Raine potentials, such that they agree with the corresponding Coleman-Weinberg potentials in flat space. Within supersymmetry, this provides a mechanism for the lifting of flat directions during inflation. For the purpose of calculating loop integrals, we employ the dimensional regularization procedure by Onemli and Woodard and show explicitly that the resulting self-energies are also invariant. This implies the absence of anomalous de Sitter breaking terms, which are reported in the literature. Furthermore, transplanckian effects do not necessarily leave an imprint on the spectrum of cosmic perturbations generated during inflation.