Loading…
Tensor non-Gaussianity in chiral scalar-tensor theories of gravity
Abstract Violation of parity symmetry in the gravitational sector, which manifests into unequal left and right circular polarization states of primordial gravitational waves, represents a way to test high-energy modifications to general relativity. In this paper we study inflation within recently pr...
Saved in:
Published in: | Journal of cosmology and astroparticle physics 2021-03, Vol.2021 (3), p.73 |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
Summary: | Abstract
Violation of parity symmetry in the gravitational sector, which manifests into unequal left and right circular polarization states of primordial gravitational waves, represents a way to test high-energy modifications to general relativity. In this paper we study inflation within recently proposed chiral scalar-tensor theories of gravity, that extend Chern-Simons gravity by including parity-violating operators containing first and second derivatives of the non-minimally coupled scalar (inflaton) field. Given the degeneracy between different parity-violating theories at the level of the power spectrum statistics, we make a detailed analysis of the parity violation on primordial tensor non-Gaussianity. We show, with an explicit computation, that no new contributions arise in the graviton bispectra if the couplings in the new operators are constant in a pure de Sitter phase. On the other hand, if the coupling functions are time-dependent during inflation, the tensor bispectra acquire non-vanishing contributions from the parity-breaking operators even in the exact de Sitter limit, with maximal signal in the squeezed and equilateral configurations. We also comment on the consistency relation of the three-point function of tensor modes in this class of models and discuss prospects of detecting parity-breaking signatures through Cosmic Microwave Background B-mode bispectra. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 1475-7516 1475-7516 |
DOI: | 10.1088/1475-7516/2021/03/073 |