Quantization of the massless minimally coupled scalar field and the dS/CFT correspondence

Abstract

We consider the quantization of the massless minimally coupled scalar field in de Sitter spacetime. The no-boundary Euclidean prescription naturally picks out the de Sitter invariant vacuum state of Kirsten and Garriga. We extend Strominger's dS/CFT correspondence to this case which allows us to interpret the massless field in terms of a Euclidean CFT. The extension is non-trivial and requires careful treatment of the zero mode. Since the graviton is massless, this work may also be considered a step towards a theory of gravity in de Sitter space.