Explaining Large Electromagnetic Logarithms from Loops of Inflationary Gravitons

Abstract

Recent progress on nonlinear sigma models on de Sitter background has permitted the resummation of large inflationary logarithms by combining a variant of Starobinsky's stochastic formalism with a variant of the renormalization group. We reconsider single graviton loop corrections to the photon wave function, and to the Coulomb potential, in light of these developments. Neither of the two 1-loop results have a stochastic explanation, however, the flow of a curvature-dependent field strength renormalization explains their factors of $\ln (a)$. We speculate that the factor of $\ln (Hr)$ in the Coulomb potential should not be considered as a leading logarithm effect.

22 pages, uses LaTeX2e, slightly revised for publication