Non-Gaussianity has emerged as a powerful probe of the physics of inflation.
In particular, convincing detection of the so-called local-form primordial non-Gaussianity (parameterized by fNL) is thought to rule out all inflation models based on a single energy component.
The current observational data (cosmic microwave background and large-scale structure of the universe) are about to exclude fNL=0 at 95% CL. If this signal is real, the forthcoming Planck data are expected to rule out fNL=0 at more than 5-sigma level.
In such a situation, are we ready to declare that all single-field models of inflation are ruled out? What about multi-field models of inflation? Can we also rule out a large class of multi-field models using non-Gaussianity, e.g., soft limits of three- and four-point functions (such as the behavior of the squeezed-limit bispectrum and the Suyama-Yamaguchi inequality) and gNL?
In this workshop, we will discuss "how to falsify inflation, using non-Gaussianity, as a mechanism for generating the observed fluctuations."
Summary of the workshop
- Session 1: Single-field inflation
- Session 2: Future observational prospects
- Session 3: Multiple-field inflation
- Session 4: Large-scale structure theory
- Session 5: Data analysis issues
The members of Scientific Organization Committee (SOC) include:
- Xingang Chen (University of Cambridge)
- Shirley Ho (Carnegie Mellon University)
- Eiichiro Komatsu (Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik)
- Malco Peloso (University of Minnesota)
- Sarah Shandera (Penn State University)
- Masahide Yamaguchi (Tokyo Institute of Technology)