EFT of Open Systems : Path Integrals and the Schwinger–Keldysh Formalism (2/4)
By Enrico Pajer
EFT of Open Systems : Open Gauge Theories and Cosmological Goldstone Modes (3/4)
By Enrico Pajer
By Enrico Pajer
Appears in collection : 2026 IHES Summer School – Cosmological Correlators
The final lecture develops concrete applications of open-system techniques to fundamental Interactions: 1. Electromagnetism in a medium : - Effective open description of photons, - Dissipative propagation, noise fluctuations and birefringence, - Consistent treatment of gauge invariance, constraints, and gauge identities. 2. Gravity as an open system : - General formulation of an open theory of general relativity, - Implications for late-time cosmology, dark energy, and the propagation of gravitational waves through a dark-sector medium.