Vacuum states for gravitons field in de Sitter space

In this paper, considering the linearized Einstein equation with a two-parameter family of linear covariant gauges in de Sitter spacetime, we examine possible vacuum states for the gravitons field with respect to invariance under the de Sitter group SO0(1,4). Our calculations explicitly reveal that there exists no natural de Sitter-invariant vacuum state (the Euclidean or Bunch-Davies state) for the gravitons field. Indeed, on the foundation of a rigorous group-theoretical reasoning, we prove that if one insists on full covariance as well as causality for the theory, one has to give up the positivity requirement of the inner product. However, one may still look for states with as much symmetry as possible, more precisely, a restrictive version of covariance by considering the gravitons field and the associated vacuum state which are, respectively, covariant and invariant with respect to some maximal subgroup of the full de Sitter group. In this regard, we treat the SO(4) case and find a family of SO(4)-invariant states. The associated SO(4)-covariant quantum field is given, as well.