k-Inflation
High Energy Physics - Theory
2008-11-26 v1 Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Abstract
It is shown that a large class of higher-order (i.e. non-quadratic) scalar kinetic terms can, without the help of potential terms, drive an inflationary evolution starting from rather generic initial conditions. In many models, this kinetically driven inflation (or "k-inflation" for short) rolls slowly from a high-curvature initial phase, down to a low-curvature phase and can exit inflation to end up being radiation-dominated, in a naturally graceful manner. We hope that this novel inflation mechanism might be useful in suggesting new ways of reconciling the string dilaton with inflation.
Cite
@article{arxiv.hep-th/9904075,
title = {k-Inflation},
author = {C. Armendariz-Picon and T. Damour and V. Mukhanov},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:hep-th/9904075},
year = {2008}
}
Comments
LaTeX, 20 pages including 3 figures. Submitted to Phys. Lett. B