Anisotropic non-Gaussianity from Rotational Symmetry Breaking Excited Initial States

Abstract

If the initial quantum state of the primordial perturbations broke rotational invariance, that would be seen as a statistical anisotropy in the angular correlations of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) temperature fluctuations. This can be described by a general parameterisation of the initial conditions that takes into account the possible direction-dependence of both the amplitude and the phase of particle creation during inflation. The leading effect in the CMBR two-point function is typically a quadrupole modulation, whose coefficient is analytically constrained here to be $|B|\lesssim 0.06$. The CMBR three-point function then acquires enhanced non-gaussianity, especially for the local configurations. In the large occupation number limit, a distinctive prediction is a modulation of the non-gaussianity around a mean value depending on the angle that short and long wavelength modes make with the preferred direction. The maximal variations with respect to the mean value occur for the configurations which are coplanar with the preferred direction and the amplitude of the non-gaussianity increases (decreases) for the short wavelength modes aligned with (perpendicular to) the preferred direction. For a high scale model of inflation with maximally pumped up isotropic occupation and $\epsilon \simeq 0.01$ the difference between these two configurations is about $0.27$, which could be detectable in the future. For purely anisotropic particle creation, the non-Gaussianity can be larger and its anisotropic feature very sharp. The non-gaussianity can then reach $f_{NL}\sim 30$ in the preferred direction while disappearing from the correlations in the orthogonal plane.

v1: 13 pages, 3 figures, double column, v2: some refs added; v3: Matched the JCAP version

References in corpus (51)

• Non-Gaussian features of primordial fluctuations in single field inflationary models
• Planck 2013 results. XXII. Constraints on inflation
• Observational Signatures and Non-Gaussianities of General Single Field Inflation
• The Trans-Planckian Problem of Inflationary Cosmology
• Planck 2015 results. XVII. Constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity
• Planck 2013 Results. XXIV. Constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity
• Inflationary Universe with Anisotropic Hair
• A note on inflation and transplanckian physics
• Gauge Fields and Inflation
• Imprints of a Primordial Preferred Direction on the Microwave Background
• Inflation as a Probe of Short Distance Physics
• Enhanced Non-Gaussianity from Excited Initial States
• Signatures of Short Distance Physics in the Cosmic Microwave Background
• The anisotropic power spectrum and bispectrum in the f(phi) F^2 mechanism
• Cosmic Microwave Background Statistics for a Direction-Dependent Primordial Power Spectrum
• Non-gaussianities and the Stimulated creation of quanta in the inflationary universe
• Can a vector field be responsible for the curvature perturbation in the Universe?
• Limits on anisotropic inflation from the Planck data
• Effective Field Theory and Decoupling in Multi-field Inflation: An Illustrative Case Study
• Non-Bunch-Davies Initial State Reconciles Chaotic Models with BICEP and Planck
• Effective field theory and non-Gaussianity from general inflationary states
• Reconciliation of High Energy Scale Models of Inflation with Planck
• Inflation with General Initial Conditions for Scalar Perturbations
• Minimum Length Cutoff in Inflation and Uniqueness of the Action
• Energy Transfer in Multi Field Inflation and Cosmological Perturbations
• A Note on Calm Excited States of Inflation
• Decoupling in an expanding universe: boundary RG-flow affects initial conditions for inflation
• Decoupling in an expanding universe: backreaction barely constrains short distance effects in the CMB
• Running of the Spectral Index and Violation of the Consistency Relation Between Tensor and Scalar Spectra from trans-Planckian Physics
• Non-Gaussianity Consistency Relations, Initial States and Back-reaction
• On the Tensor/Scalar Ratio in Inflation with UV Cutoff
• Translational Invariance and the Anisotropy of the Cosmic Microwave Background
• Power Spectrum and Signatures for Cascade Inflation
• The cosmological vacuum ambiguity, effective actions, and transplanckian effects in inflation
• Anisotropic Inflation with the non-Vacuum Initial State
• Signatures of anisotropic sources in the trispectrum of the cosmic microwave background
• Non-Gaussianities in the Cosmological Perturbation Spectrum due to Primordial Anisotropy
• Non-Gaussianities in the Cosmological Perturbation Spectrum due to Primordial Anisotropy II
• Primordial quantum nonequilibrium and large-scale cosmic anomalies
• CMB statistics in noncommutative inflation
• Quantum backreaction in evolving FLRW spacetimes
• Isotropization of the universe during inflation
• Hemispherical Anomaly from Asymmetric Initial States
• Long-range self-interacting dark matter in the Sun
• Disformal vectors and anisotropies on a warped brane
• Extracting New Physics from the CMB
• Primordial non-Gaussianities in single field inflationary models with non-trivial initial states
• Non-Bunch-Davies Anisotropy
• An analytic approach to perturbations from an initially anisotropic universe
• Sensitivity of inflationary predictions to pre-inflationary phases
• The Initial State of a Primordial Anisotropic Stage of Inflation

Cited by in corpus (14)

• Cosmology and Fundamental Physics with the Euclid Satellite
• Large-Scale Galaxy Bias
• Rescuing Single Field Inflation from the Swampland
• Multitracing Anisotropic Non-Gaussianity with Galaxy Shapes
• Detecting higher spin fields through statistical anisotropy in the CMB and galaxy power spectra
• Limits on statistical anisotropy from BOSS DR12 galaxies using bipolar spherical harmonics
• Polypolar spherical harmonic decomposition of galaxy correlators in redshift space: Toward testing cosmic rotational symmetry
• Heavy quark-philic scalar dark matter with a vector-like fermion portal
• Primordial tensor non-Gaussianities from general single-field inflation with non-Bunch-Davies initial states
• Getting Super-Excited with Modified Dispersion Relations
• Angular dependence of primordial trispectra and CMB spectral distortions
• General quadrupolar statistical anisotropy: Planck limits
• Primordial gravitational waves and perturbations during an inhomogeneous inflation
• Stochastic gravitational wave background anisotropies from inflation with non-Bunch-Davies states