High Energy Physics Seminar

Series: High Energy Physics Seminar Series

Primordial Non-Gaussianity as a probe of (ultra high-energy) gauge theories.

Soubhik Kumar, University of Maryland,

Future measurements of primordial non-Gaussianity (NG) can reveal the mass and the spin information of cosmologically produced particles with masses of order the inflationary Hubble scale, H_inf, which can be as high as 10^13 GeV. In this talk, I will describe how such NG measurements can be used as an on-shell probe of, a) Grand Unified Theories and, b) low scale gauge theories that get "heavy-lifted" to ~ H_inf scales. I will also discuss a simple alternative to the standard inflationary paradigm, involving a curvaton field, that can allow NG signals orders of magnitude larger compared to standard inflation. This brings various motivated particle physics signatures, such as loops of heavy gauge-charged scalars and fermions, within future observational reach.

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For more information, please visit http://theory.caltech.edu/people/carol/seminar.html.