We show that the minimal Weyl-invariant Einstein-Cartan gravity in combination with the Standard Model of particle physics contains just one extra scalar degree of freedom (in addition to the graviton and the Standard Model fields) with the properties of an axion-like particle which can solve the strong CP-problem. The smallness of this particle's mass as well as of the cosmological constant is ensured by tiny values of the gauge coupling constants of the local Lorentz group.

To be announced.

I will describe how causality implies certain non-perturbative analyticity and exponential boundedness conditions on correlators of relativistic QFTs, in a mixed (t,k) representation. I will then discuss their implications for correlators in Lorentz-breaking backgrounds, including finite-density states and cosmological spacetimes, and show how they can be used to derive a positivity condition on inflationary theories. Along the way, I will compare with the case of S-matrix positivity in flat space Lorentz-invariant theories.

Dissipation and noise arise from the incomplete modelling of unknown environments through which light and gravitational waves propagate. In this talk, I will introduce a framework that extends effective field theories to account for these effects. I will highlight how symmetries, locality, and unitarity impose constraints on dissipation and noise. Finally, I will explore the resulting phenomenology in the early and late universe, with a focus on the potential observational signatures of these effects.