Cosmology from asymptotically safe Proca theories
Abstract
Effective field theories for cosmology offer a powerful framework to investigate the dynamics of space--time and address longstanding open puzzles. In this work, we initiate a programme to analyse the ultraviolet completion of vector--tensor quantum field theories within the asymptotic safety paradigm, focusing on generalised Proca theories with a vector condensate. This enables us to assess whether a consistent fundamental UV completion exists and to constrain the set of viable infrared scenarios. Using the non--perturbative functional renormalisation group, we identify several fixed points, including Proca--type candidates, and, among them, a particularly remarkable one with four relevant directions: two associated with gravity and two induced by matter. This provides evidence for the non--perturbative renormalisability of vector--tensor theories. We further outline how the resulting UV critical surface constrains late--time cosmology.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2604.01090,
title = {Cosmology from asymptotically safe Proca theories},
author = {Carlos Pastor-Marcos and Lavinia Heisenberg and Álvaro Pastor-Gutiérrez and Jan M. Pawlowski and Manuel Reichert},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.01090},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
13 pages, 6 figures, 1 table