Detecting higher spin fields through statistical anisotropy in the CMB bispectrum

TL;DR

This paper explores how higher spin fields during inflation can produce unique statistical anisotropy signals in the CMB bispectrum, potentially revealing new physics at high energies.

Contribution

It demonstrates that long-lived higher spin fields induce distinctive anisotropic signatures in the CMB bispectrum, advancing methods to detect such signals.

Findings

Statistical anisotropic signals are induced in the CMB bispectrum by higher spin fields.

These signals are potentially detectable with current or future CMB observations.

The work provides a new approach to probe high-energy physics during inflation.

Abstract

Inflation may provide a suitable collider to probe physics at very high energies. In this paper we investigate the impact on the CMB bispectrum of higher spin fields which are long-lived on super-Hubble scales, e.g. partially massless higher spin fields. We show that distinctive statistical anisotropic signals on the CMB three-point correlator are induced and we investigate their detectability.