Semi-classical and functional methods on curved spacetimes and applications to cosmology - Dr Subodh Patil, Autumn 2014

Prof. Ruth Durrer Département de Physique Théorique Université de Genève 26, Quai Ernest-Ansermet 1211 Genève 4 tél. +41 22 379 6884; fax +41 22 379 6870 e-mail: ruth.durrer@unige.ch

This 4 week lecture course aims to provide students with useful tools and techniques that allow one to interface observations with effective descriptions of the early universe. The topics covered will include * how to compute effective actions using functional methods, comparison with diagrammatic techniques; * renormalization on curved spacetimes, applications to particle physics and inflationary scenarios; * an introduction to the Schwinger-Keldysh (or `in-in’) formalism to compute cosmological correlators; * spontaneous broken spacetime symmetries and the generalization of Goldstone’s theorem; * applications to cosmology and the effective theory of the adiabatic mode. Time and interest permitting, we might also cover finite temperature and out of equilibrium techniques as relevant to the early universe, among other topics as students interest might dictate.

1 (EPFL)