Abstract
An interacting scalar field theory in de Sitter space appears to be nonrenormalizable for a generic -vacuum state. This pathology arises since the usual propagator used allows for a constructive interference among propagators in loop corrections, which produces divergences that are not proportional to standard counterterms. This interference can be avoided by defining a new propagator for the -vacuum based on a generalized time-ordering prescription. The generating functional associated with this propagator contains a source that couples to the field both at a point and at its antipode. To one loop order, we show that a set of theories with very general antipodal interactions is causal and renormalizable.
- Received 19 December 2003
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.70.084019
©2004 American Physical Society