Photon mass generation during inflation: de Sitter invariant case

We calculate the one-loop vacuum polarization tensor of scalar electrodynamics in a locally de Sitter space-time, endowed with a nearly minimally coupled, light scalar field. We show that the photon dynamics is well approximated by a (local) Proca Lagrangean. Since the photon mass can be much larger than the Hubble parameter, the photons may propagate slowly during inflation. Finally, we briefly discuss magnetic field generation on cosmological scales, and point out that, while the spectrum of the magnetic field is identical to that obtained from the massless scalar, B_l ~ B_0/l, the amplitude B_0 may be significantly enhanced, implying that the seed field bound for the galactic dynamo can be easily met.

inflation
photon: mass generation
space-time: de Sitter
vacuum polarization
perturbation theory: higher-order
propagator: scalar
quantum electrodynamics: scalar
coupling: minimal
effective Lagrangian
magnetic field: production

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