https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-015-3838-2
Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
Non-locality in quantum field theory due to general relativity
Physics and Astronomy, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QH, UK
* e-mail: x.calmet@sussex.ac.uk
Received:
21
October
2015
Accepted:
6
December
2015
Published online:
19
December
2015
We show that general relativity coupled to a quantum field theory generically leads to non-local effects in the matter sector. These non-local effects can be described by non-local higher dimensional operators which remarkably have an approximate shift symmetry. When applied to inflationary models, our results imply that small non-Gaussianities are a generic feature of models based on general relativity coupled to matter fields. However, these effects are too small to be observable in the cosmic microwave background.
© The Author(s), 2015
