De Sitter-invariant Vacuum Research Articles

Understanding thermal nature of de Sitter spacetime via inter-detector interaction

We investigate the interaction potential of two static detectors (atoms) at the same radial but different azimuthal coordinates in the de Sitter invariant vacuum. We show that for two detectors very far away from the cosmological horizon, the interaction potential is different from that of two static ones in a thermal bath in Minkowski spacetime at a temperature equal to the Gibbons-Hawking temperature, suggesting that de Sitter spacetime in regard to its thermal nature basically differs from a thermal bath in Minkowski spacetime. For two detectors very close to the cosmological horizon, the interaction potential behaves as ∼[TUρ4ln⁡(4TUρ)]−1 with TU and ρ the Unruh temperature associated with the proper acceleration and the proper separation of the detectors, which deviates dramatically from ∼(TUρ4)−1, the behavior of the interaction potential of two synchronously uniformly accelerated detectors in Minkowski spacetime, indicating that thermal nature of de Sitter spacetime also differs essentially from the Unruh thermal bath.

Massive holographic QFTs in de Sitter

We study strongly coupled mass-deformed-CFT on a fixed de Sitter spacetime in three dimensions via holography. We elucidate the global causal structure of the four-dimensional spacetime dual to the de Sitter invariant vacuum state. The conformal boundaries of de Sitter appear as spacelike defects sourced by the mass deformation, which extend into the bulk as curvature singularities in AdS. We compute all one- and two-point functions of the deformed-CFT stress tensor and a scalar operator order-by-order in the mass deformation for a simple holographic model. These correlation functions admit a spectral representation as a sum of simple poles corresponding to normalisable modes in the bulk.

Studies on the SJ vacuum in de Sitter spacetime

In this work we study the Sorkin-Johnston (SJ) vacuum in de Sitter spacetime for free scalar field theory. For the massless theory we find that the SJ vacuum can neither be obtained from the O(4) Fock vacuum of Allen and Folacci nor from the non-Fock de Sitter invariant vacuum of Kirsten and Garriga. Using a causal set discretisation of a slab of 2d and 4d de Sitter spacetime, we find the causal set SJ vacuum for a range of masses m ≥ 0 of the free scalar field. While our simulations are limited to a finite volume slab of global de Sitter spacetime, they show good convergence as the volume is increased. We find that the 4d causal set SJ vacuum shows a significant departure from the continuum Mottola-Allen α-vacua. Moreover, the causal set SJ vacuum is well-defined for both the minimally coupled massless m = 0 and the conformally coupled massless m = mc cases. This is at odds with earlier work on the continuum de Sitter SJ vacuum where it was argued that the continuum SJ vacuum is ill-defined for these masses. Our results hint at an important tension between the discrete and continuum behaviour of the SJ vacuum in de Sitter and suggest that the former cannot in general be identified with the Mottola-Allen α-vacua even for m > 0.

Radiative process of two entanglement atoms in de Sitter spacetime

We investigate the radiative processes of a quantum system composed by two identical two-level atoms in the de Sitter spacetime, interacting with a conformally coupled massless scalar field prepared in the de Sitter-invariant vacuum. We discuss the structure of the rate of variations of the atomic energy for two static atoms. Following a procedure developed by Dalibard, Dupont-Roc and Cohen-Tannoudji, our intention is to identify in a quantitative way the contributions of vacuum fluctuations and the radiation reaction to the generation of quantum entanglement and to the degradation of entangled states. We find that when the distance between two atoms larger than the characteristic length scale, the rate of variation of atomic energy in the de Sitter-invariant vacuum behaves differently compared with that in the thermal Minkowski spacetime. In particular, the generation and degradation of quantum entanglement can be enhanced or inhibited, which are dependent not only on the specific entangled state but also on the distance between the atoms.

Protecting quantum Fisher information in curved space-time

In this work, we investigate the quantum Fisher information (QFI) dynamics of a two-level atom interacting with quantized conformally coupled massless scalar fields in de Sitter-invariant vacuum. We first derive the master equation that governs its evolution. It is found that the QFI decays with evolution time. Furthermore, we propose two schemes to protect QFI by employing prior weak measurement (WM) and post measurement reversal (MR). We find that the first scheme can not always protect QFI and the second scheme has prominent advantage over the first scheme.

Vacuum states for gravitons field in de Sitter space

In this paper, considering the linearized Einstein equation with a two-parameter family of linear covariant gauges in de Sitter spacetime, we examine possible vacuum states for the gravitons field with respect to invariance under the de Sitter group $SO_0(1,4)$. Our calculations explicitly reveal that there exists no natural de Sitter-invariant vacuum state (the Euclidean state) for the gravitons field. Indeed, on the foundation of a rigorous group theoretical reasoning, we prove that if one insists on full covariance as well as causality for the theory, has to give up the positivity requirement of the inner product. However, one may still look for states with as much symmetry as possible, more precisely, a restrictive version of covariance by considering the gravitons field and the associated vacuum state which are, respectively, covariant and invariant with respect to some maximal subgroup of the full de Sitter group. In this regard, we treat $SO(4)$ case, and find a family of $SO(4)$-invariant states. The associated $SO(4)$-covariant quantum field is given, as well.

Dynamics of quantum entanglement in de Sitter spacetime and thermal Minkowski spacetime

We investigate the dynamics of entanglement between two atoms in de Sitter spacetime and in thermal Minkowski spacetime. We treat the two-atom system as an open quantum system which is coupled to a conformally coupled massless scalar field in the de Sitter invariant vacuum or to a thermal bath in the Minkowski spacetime, and derive the master equation that governs its evolution. We compare the phenomena of entanglement creation, degradation, revival and enhancement for the de Sitter spacetime case with that for the thermal Minkowski spacetime case. We find that the entanglement dynamics of two atoms for these two spacetime cases behave quite differently. In particular, the two atoms interacting with the field in the thermal Minkowski spacetime (with the field in the de Sitter-invariant vacuum), under certain conditions, could be entangled, while they would not become entangled in the corresponding de Sitter case (in the corresponding thermal Minkowski case). Thus, although a single static atom in the de Sitter-invariant vacuum responds as if it were bathed in thermal radiation in a Minkowski universe, with the help of the different dynamic evolution behaviors of entanglement for two atoms one can in principle distinguish these two universes.

Detecting the Curvature of de Sitter Universe with Two Entangled Atoms.

Casimir-Polder interaction arises from the vacuum fluctuations of quantum field that depend on spacetime curvature and thus is spacetime-dependent. Here we show how to use the resonance Casimir-Polder interaction (RCPI) between two entangled atoms to detect spacetime curvature. We find that the RCPI of two static entangled atoms in the de Sitter-invariant vacuum depends on the de Sitter spacetime curvature relevant to the temperature felt by the static observer. It is characterized by a 1/L2 power law decay when beyond a characteristic length scale associated to the breakdown of a local inertial description of the two-atom system. However, the RCPI of the same setup embedded in a thermal bath in the Minkowski universe is temperature-independent and is always characterized by a 1/L power law decay. Therefore, although a single static atom in the de Sitter-invariant vacuum responds as if it were bathed in thermal radiation in a Minkowski universe, using the distinct difference between RCPI of two entangled atoms one can in principle distinguish these two universes.

Covariant and infrared-free graviton two-point function in de Sitter spacetime

In this paper, the two-point function of linearized gravitons on de Sitter (dS) space is presented. Technically, respecting the dS ambient space notation, the field equation is given by the coordinate-independent Casimir operators of the de Sitter group. Analogous to the quantization of the electromagnetic field in Minkowski space, the field equation admits gauge solutions. The notation allows us to exhibit the formalism of Gupta-Bleuler triplets for the present field in exactly the same manner as it occurs for the electromagnetic field. In this regard, centering on the spin-two part (the traceless part, ${\cal{K}}^t$), the field solution is written as a product of a generalized polarization tensor and a minimally coupled massless scalar field. Then, admitting a de Sitter-invariant vacuum through the so-called "Krein space quantization", the de Sitter fully covariant two-point function is calculated. This function is interestingly free of pathological large distance behavior (infrared divergence). Moreover, the spin-zero part (the pure-trace part; ${\cal{K}}^{pt}$) of the field is discussed in this paper. It is shown that the implications of the dS group unitary irreducible representations restrict the gauge-fixing parameter to the optimal value, which remarkably results in the pure-trace part be written in terms of a conformally coupled massless scalar field.

Distinguishing de Sitter universe from thermal Minkowski spacetime by Casimir-Polder-like force

We demonstrate that the static ground state atom, which interacts with a conformally coupled massless scalar field in the de Sitter invariant vacuum, can obtain a position-dependent energy-level shift and this shift could cause a Casimir-Polder-like force on it. Interestingly no such force arises on the inertial atom bathed in a thermal radiation in the Minkowski universe. Thus, although the energy-level shifts of the static atom for these two cases are structurally the same, whether the energy-level shift causes the Casimir-Polder-like force, in principle, could be as an indicator to distinguish de Sitter universe from the thermal Minkowski spacetime.

Riemann correlator in de Sitter including loop corrections from conformal fields

The Riemann correlator with appropriately raised indices characterizes in a gauge-invariant way the quantum metric fluctuations around de Sitter spacetime including loop corrections from matter fields. Specializing to conformal fields and employing a method that selects the de Sitter-invariant vacuum in the Poincaré patch, we obtain the exact result for the Riemann correlator through order H4/mp4. The result is expressed in a manifestly de Sitter-invariant form in terms of maximally symmetric bitensors. Its behavior for both short and long distances (sub- and superhorizon scales) is analyzed in detail. Furthermore, by carefully taking the flat-space limit, the explicit result for the Riemann correlator for metric fluctuations around Minkowki spacetime is also obtained. Although the main focus is on free scalar fields (our calculation corresponds then to one-loop order in the matter fields), the result for general conformal field theories is also derived.

Quantum entanglement generation in de Sitter spacetime

We study, in the framework of open quantum systems, the entanglement generation between two mutually independent static two-level atoms in de Sitter spacetime. We treat the two-atom system as an open system in interaction with a bath of fluctuating conformally coupled massless scalar fields in the de Sitter invariant vacuum and derive the master equation which governs its evolution. With the help of the partial transposition criterion, we analyze entanglement generation between the two initially separable atoms and find that static atoms in de Sitter spacetime exhibit distinct characteristics from those in a thermal bath in flat spacetime in terms of entanglement generation. So, in, principle, one can tell whether he is in a thermal bath or in de Sitter space by checking the entanglement creation between two initially separable static atoms in certain circumstances.

Geometric phase of two-level atoms and thermal nature of de Sitter spacetime

In the framework of open quantum systems, we study the geometric phase acquired by freely falling and static two-level atoms interacting with quantized conformally coupled massless scalar fields in de Sitter-invariant vacuum. We find that, for the freely falling atom, the geometric phase gets a correction resulting from a thermal bath with the Gibbons-Hawking temperature, thus it clearly reveals the intrinsic thermal nature of de Sitter spacetime from a different physical context. For the static atom, there is a correction to the geometric phase coming from both the intrinsic thermal nature of de Sitter spacetime and the Unruh effect associated with the proper acceleration of the atom. Furthermore, in a gedanken experiment, we estimate the magnitude of the correction to the geometric phase as opposed to that in a flat spacetime. We find that the correction for the freely falling atom is too tiny to be measured, and that for the static atom achieves an observable magnitude only when the atom almost locates at the horizon.

Future boundary conditions in de Sitter space

We consider asymptotically future de Sitter spacetimes endowed with an eternal observatory. In the conventional descriptions, the conformal metric at the future boundary I^+ is deformed by the flux of gravitational radiation. We however impose an unconventional future "Dirichlet" boundary condition requiring that the conformal metric is flat everywhere except at the conformal point where the observatory arrives at I^+. This boundary condition violates conventional causality, but we argue the causality violations cannot be detected by any experiment in the observatory. We show that the bulk-to-bulk two-point functions obeying this future boundary condition are not realizable as operator correlation functions in any de Sitter invariant vacuum, but they do agree with those obtained by double analytic continuation from anti-de Sitter space.

METRIC FLUCTUATIONS IN DE SITTER SPACETIME IN STOCHASTIC GRAVITY

Stochastic gravity extends semiclassical gravity by allowing for a systematic and self-consistent description of the metric fluctuations produced by the quantum fluctuations of the stress tensor. The effect of minimally coupled scalar fields with arbitrary mass in de Sitter spacetime is discussed, assuming that these fields are in the Bunch–Davies de Sitter invariant vacuum. The matter field fluctuations are described by the noise kernel which is obtained from the symmetrized two-point correlation of the stress tensor operator. The noise kernel is computed in terms of de Sitter invariant bi-tensors. It turns out that in a de Sitter background the two-point function of the linearized Einstein tensor, which is gauge invariant, is directly related to the noise kernel.

Open Quantum System Approach to the Gibbons-Hawking Effect of de Sitter Space-Time

We analyze, in the paradigm of open quantum systems, the reduced dynamics of a freely falling two-level detector in de Sitter space-time in weak interaction with a reservoir of fluctuating quantized conformal scalar fields in the de Sitter-invariant vacuum. We find that the detector is asymptotically driven to a thermal state at the Gibbons-Hawking temperature, regardless of its initial state. Our discussion, therefore, shows that the Gibbons-Hawking effect of de Sitter space-time can be understood as a manifestation of thermalization phenomena that involves decoherence and dissipation in open quantum systems.

Lamb shift in de Sitter spacetime

We study the Lamb shift of both freely-falling and static two-level atoms in interaction with quantized conformally coupled massless scalar fields in the de Sitter-invariant vacuum. We find that the Lamb shifts of both freely-falling and static atoms are in structural similarity to that of an inertial atom immersed in a thermal bath in a Minkowski spacetime. For the freely-falling atom, the Lamb shift gets a correction as if it was immersed in a thermal bath at the Gibbons-Hawking temperature, thus revealing clearly the intrinsic thermal nature of de Sitter spacetime. For the static atom, the Lamb shift is affected by a combination of the effect of the intrinsic thermal nature of de Sitter spacetime and the Unruh effect associated with the inherent acceleration of the atom.

No de Sitter Invariant Vacuum in Massive Gravity Theory with Ghost

In this paper, we point out that the massive gravity theory with a graviton ghost mode in the de Sitter background cannot possess a de Sitter invariant vacuum state. In order to avoid a negative norm state, we must associate the creation operator of the ghost mode with a negative-energy mode function instead of a positive-energy one as the mode function. Namely, we have to adopt a different procedure of quantization for a ghost. When a theory has a symmetry mixing a ghost mode with ordinary nonghost modes, the choice of a ghost mode is not unique. However, the quantization of a ghost is impossible without specifying a choice of ghost mode, which breaks the symmetry. For this reason, the vacuum state cannot respect the symmetry. In the massive gravity theory with a graviton ghost mode in the de Sitter background, the ghost is the helicity-0 mode of the graviton. This ghost mode is mixed with the other helicity graviton modes under the action of de Sitter symmetry. Therefore, there is no de Sitter invariant vacuum in such models. This leads to an interesting possibility that the non-covariant cutoff of the low-energy effective theory may naturally arise. As a result, the instability due to the pair production of a ghost and normal non-ghost particles gets much milder and that the model may escape from being rejected.

Particle Production in Models with Helicity-0 Graviton Ghost in de Sitter Spacetime

We revisit the problem of the helicity-0 ghost mode of massive graviton in the de Sitter background. In general, the presence of a ghost particle, which has negative energy, drives the vacuum to be unstable through pair production of ghost particles and ordinary particles. In the case that the vacuum state preserves the de Sitter invariance, the number density created by the pair production inevitably diverges due to unsuppressed ultra-violet(UV) contributions. In such cases one can immediately conclude that the model is not viable. However, in the massive gravity theory we cannot construct a vacuum state which respects the de Sitter invariance. Therefore the presence of a ghost does not immediately mean the breakdown of the model. Explicitly estimating the number density and the energy density of particles created by the pair production of two conformal scalar particles and one helicity-0 ghost graviton, we find that these densities both diverge. However, since models with helicity-0 ghost graviton have no de Sitter invariant vacuum state, it is rather natural to consider a UV cutoff scale in the three-dimensional momentum space. Then, even if we take the cutoff scale as large as the Planck scale, the created number density and energy density are well suppressed. In many models the cutoff scale is smaller than the Planck scale. In such models the created number density and the energy density are negligiblly small as long as only the physics below the cutoff scale is concerned.

Thermal nature of de Sitter spacetime and spontaneous excitation of atoms

We consider, in de Sitter spacetime, both freely falling and static two-level atoms in interaction with a conformally coupled massless scalar field in the de Sitter-invariant vacuum, and separately calculate the contributions of vacuum fluctuations and radiation reaction to the atom's spontaneous excitation rate. We find that spontaneous excitations occur even for the freely falling atom as if there is a thermal bath of radiation at the Gibbons-Hawking temperature and we thus recover, in a different physical context, the results of Gibbons and Hawking that reveals the thermal nature of de Sitter spacetime. Similarly, for the case of the static atom, our results show that the atom also perceives a thermal bath which now arises as a result of the intrinsic thermal nature of de Sitter spacetime and the Unruh effect associated with the inherent acceleration of the atom.