Related papers: A Numerical Simulation of Chern-Simons Inflation
Models of axion inflation based on a single cosine potential require the axion decay constant $f$ to be super-Planckian in size. However, $f > M_{Pl}$ is disfavored by the Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC). It is then pertinent to ask if one…
The original axion natural inflation model predicts a tensor-to-scalar ratio exceeding experimental limits. Conversely, in aligned axion inflation, inflation can proceed along trajectories emerging from near a saddle point of the two-field…
It is quite well known for some time that string inspired axionic terms of the form $\nu (\phi)\tilde{R}R$, known also as Chern-Simons terms, do not affect the scalar perturbations and the background evolution for a flat…
We present an intrinsic leptogenesis mechanism in models of axion inflation with a classical SU(2) gauge field. The gauge field is coupled to the axion with a Chern-Simons interaction and comprises a tiny fraction of the total energy,…
Recent investigations have shown that inflation can be driven by four-dimensional strongly interacting theories non-minimally coupled to gravity. We explore this paradigm further by considering composite inflation driven by orientifold…
Inflation models can have an early phase of inflation where the evolution of the inflaton is driven by quantum fluctuations before entering the phase driven by the slope of the scalar field potential. For a Coleman-Weinberg potential this…
Coherent oscillations of the inflaton field at the end of inflation can parametrically excite fermions in much the same way that bosons are created in preheating. Although Pauli-blocking prohibits the occupation number of created fermions…
We present the first quantum field theory model of inflation that is renormalizable in the matter sector, with a super-Hubble inflaton mass and sub-Planckian field excursions, which is thus technically natural and consistent with a…
A fast-rolling axion can transfer its kinetic energy to gauge fields via the Chern-Simons coupling, leading to copious production of gauge quanta during inflation. The amplified gauge fields act as a source for both scalar and tensor…
Several pulsar timing arrays including NANOGrav, EPTA, PPTA, and CPTA have recently reported the observation of a stochastic background of gravitational wave spectrum in the nano-Hz frequencies. An inflationary interpretation of this…
We present a new model of inflation in which the inflaton is the extra component of a gauge field in a 5d theory compactified on a circle. The chief merit of this model is that the potential comes only from non-local effects so that its…
In (2+1) dimensions, the Maxwell term $-(1/4) F_{\alpha\beta}F^{\alpha\beta}$ can be replaced by the Chern-Simons three-form $(\kappa/4)\epsilon^{\alpha\beta\gamma}A_\alpha F_{\beta\gamma}$, yielding a novel type of `electromagnetism'. This…
We revisit models of natural inflation and show that the single-field effective theory described by the potential $V(a)\sim \cos\frac{a}{f}$ breaks down as the inflaton $a$ makes large-field excursions, even for values of $f$ smaller than…
We propose a model for cosmic inflation which is based on an effective description of strongly interacting, nonsupersymmetric matter within the framework of dynamical Abelian projection and centerization. The underlying gauge symmetry is…
We explore the possibility of obtaining inflation in weakly coupled heterotic string theory, where the model dependent axions are responsible for driving inflation. This model can be considered as a certain extrapolation of…
We implement the scenario of early relaxation of the axion via a high scale confinement within $SU(5)$ grand unified theory and study an epoch of strong QCD in inflationary cosmology. We consider scenarios in which, during inflation, the…
It has been shown that the mechanism of formation of glue-bags in the strong coupling limit of Yang-Mills theory can be understood in terms of the dynamics of a higher-rank abelian gauge field, namely, the 3-form dual to the Chern-Simons…
A model of hybridized bosons and fermions is studied beyond the mean field approximation. The divergent boson self-energy at zero temperature makes the Cooper pairing of fermions impossible.The frequency and momentum dependence of the self-…
We study the dynamics of $SU(2)_L$ times $U(1)_Y$ electroweak gauge fields during and after Higgs inflation. In particular, we investigate configurations of the gauge fields during inflation and find the gauge fields remain topologically…
We study the scalar-tensor-tensor non-Gaussian signal in an inflationary model comprising also an axion coupled with SU(2) gauge fields. In this set-up, metric fluctuations are sourced by the gauge fields already at the linear level…