English

Running scalar spectral index in warm natural inflation

High Energy Physics - Phenomenology 2025-10-17 v3 Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Abstract

The validity of inflation models is mainly evaluated according to the consistency of the predicted scalar spectral index nsn_{\mathrm{s}}, the tensor scalar ratio rr, and the running scalar spectral index αs\alpha_{\mathrm{s}} with cosmic microwave background observations. In warm inflation (WI) scenarios, one can find exact analytical solutions for αs\alpha_{\mathrm{s}} in principle, but long expressions may be obtained. Previous studies for WI scenarios have only shown approximate analytical solutions or numerical results for αs\alpha_{\mathrm{s}}. In this study, we present a general analytical expression of αs\alpha_{\mathrm{s}} without approximation in WI. By providing an analytical expression, even if it is mathematically redundant, we believe that αs\alpha_{\mathrm{s}} will be studied across a broader range of WI models in the future. The obtained analytical expression of αs\alpha_{\mathrm{s}} is used in the study of warm natural inflation (WNI). Although nsn_{\mathrm{s}} and rr have been previously investigated, αs\alpha_{\mathrm{s}} is omitted in previous studies on WNI. Our study of αs\alpha_{\mathrm{s}} completes previous phenomenological studies on WNI. In particular, the lower limit of the symmetry-breaking scale in WNI becomes more concrete in this study.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2506.23448,
  title  = {Running scalar spectral index in warm natural inflation},
  author = {Teruyuki Kitabayashi and Aya Shimizu},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2506.23448},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

17 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in International Journal of Modern Physics A