Cosmological Scattering Equations

We propose a world sheet formula for tree-level correlation functions describing a scalar field with arbitrary mass and quartic self-interaction in de Sitter space, which is a simple model for inflationary cosmology. The correlation functions are located on the future boundary of the spacetime and are Fourier-transformed to momentum space. Our formula is supported on mass-deformed scattering equations involving conformal generators in momentum space and reduces to the CHY formula for phi(4) amplitudes in the flat space limit. Using the global residue theorem, we verify that it reproduces the Witten diagram expansion at four and six points, and sketch the extension to n points.

Automated summary

The paper introduces a world sheet formula for tree-level correlation functions of a scalar field in de Sitter space. The formula focuses on mass-deformed scattering equations and conformal generators in momentum space, related to the CHY formula in flat space. Using the global residue theorem, the formula is shown to reproduce Witten diagram expansion at four and six points, with a sketch of extension to n points.