On Soft Limits of Inflationary Correlation Functions

Abstract

Soft limits of inflationary correlation functions are both observationally relevant and theoretically robust. Various theorems can be proven about them that are insensitive to detailed model-building assumptions. In this paper, we re-derive several of these theorems in a universal way. Our method makes manifest why soft limits are such an interesting probe of the spectrum of additional light fields during inflation. We illustrate these abstract results with a detailed case study of the soft limits of quasi-single-field inflation.

26 pages, 5 figures; V2: references added + pedagogical improvements of Sec. 2 and App. A