One-loop correction to primordial tensor modes during radiation era

Abstract: The ability to infer properties of primordial inflation relies on the conservation of the superhorizon perturbations between their exit during inflation, and their re-entry during radiation era. Any considerable departure from this property would require reinterpreting the data. This is why it is important to understand how superhorizon perturbations interact with the thermal plasma driving the radiation dominated Universe. We model the plasma by free photons in a thermal state and compute the one-loop correction to the power spectrum of primordial tensor perturbations. This correction grows in time and is not suppressed by any small parameter. While one-loop result is not reliable because it invalidates perturbation theory, it signals potentially interesting effects that should be investigated further.