May 9, 14:15 in A315   

Mindaugas Karciauskas (Granada U., Spain)


 

Statistically Anisotropic Curvature Perturbation: Parity Violation and non-Abelian Fields

Arguably the most anticipated result from the Planck satellite is the measurement of non-Gaussianity of the primordial curvature perturbation \zeta. Apart from the possibility of detecting the non-linearity parameter fNL, it will be equally exciting to learn what the data can tell us about its angular modulation, i.e. the statistical anisotropy. If detected, it may provide the first insight into the gauge field content of the beyond standard model physics at energy scales relevant for inflation. In this talk I will discuss two possible scenarios. First, I will show that a contribution from vector fields with axial couplings generates parity violating \zeta, which can be detected by measuring the shape of fNL and its angular modulation. Second, I will present a model in which \zeta is generated solely by vector fields, without a direct contribution from scalar fields and without violating observational constraints on the anisotropy in the spectrum of \zeta.