Complex geodesics in the Nariai geometry

A bstract We study two-point correlation functions of heavy scalar fields in the Nariai geometry. Utilizing the heat kernel formalism, we obtain this result from a geodesic approximation to the two-point function on a product of spheres. By analytically continuing one of the spheres, we obtain the correlation function in the Nariai geometry. This result involves a sum over complex geodesics, extending previous results in pure de Sitter space. We emphasize the important role of the phase of each geodesic contribution, which needs to be taken into account to avoid spurious singularities in the correlator.