Related papers: Reheating dynamics affects non-perturbative decay …
In this paper we will discuss analytically the perturbations created from a slowly rolling subdominant spectator field which decays much before the end of inflation. The quantum fluctuations of such a spectator field can seed perturbations…
We investigate scalar-induced stochastic gravitational waves from adiabatic curvature perturbations sourced by a spectator field via the modulated reheating mechanism. We consider a spectator scalar with Higgs-like couplings and inflaton…
We study post-inflationary evolution in $\alpha$-attractor T-models of inflation. We consider the dynamics of both scalar fields present in these models: the inflaton and the spectator, as a negative field-space curvature may lead to…
One of the simplest possible candidates for dark matter is a stable scalar singlet beyond the Standard Model. If its mass is below the Hubble scale during inflation, long-wavelength modes of this scalar will be excited during inflation, and…
We study (p)reheating in alpha-attractor T-models of inflation, taking into account both scalar fields present in these models: the inflaton and the spectator. The two-field model has a negative field-space curvature which, at the end of…
We show that the stochastic evolution of an interacting system of the Higgs and a spectator scalar field naturally gives rise to an enhanced probability of settling down at the electroweak vacuum at the end of inflation. Subsequent…
We investigate the stochastic behaviour of long wavelength modes of light spectator scalar fields during inflation. When starting from a classical field value, the probability distribution for the spectator both spreads out and moves…
The Standard Model Higgs boson, which has previously been shown to develop an effective vacuum expectation value during inflation, can give rise to large particle masses during inflation and reheating, leading to temporary blocking of the…
Even if the Higgs field does not affect the evolution of the background geometry, its massive inhomogeneities induce large-scale gauge fields whose energy density depends on the slow-roll parameters, on the effective scalar mass and, last…
We study the primordial scalar and tensor perturbations in inflation scenario involving a spectator dilaton field. In our setup, the rolling spectator dilaton causes a tachyonic instability of gauge fields, leading to a copious production…
We demonstrate that in the presence of a light scalar spectator field, vacuum transitions taking place during inflation can produce large, potentially detectable non-Gaussian signatures in the primordial curvature perturbation. Such…
We extend the framework of spontaneous baryogenesis by investigating the generation of baryon asymmetry when the inflaton, $\theta$, is minimally coupled with a complex spectator scalar field $\phi$, as $\theta^2|\phi|^2$. To do so, we also…
We investigate the dynamics of the Standard Model higgs with a minimal coupling to gravity during and after inflation. In the regime where the Standard Model vacuum is stable, we find that the higgs becomes a light spectator field after…
We show that the observed primordial perturbations can be entirely sourced by a light spectator scalar field with a quartic potential, akin to the Higgs boson, provided that the field is sufficiently displaced from vacuum during inflation.…
We study the stochastic distribution of spectator fields predicted in different slow-roll inflation backgrounds. Spectator fields have a negligible energy density during inflation but may play an important dynamical role later, even giving…
It has been argued that oscillatory features from spectator fields in the primordial power spectrum could be a probe of alternatives to inflation. In this work, we soften this claim by showing that the frequency and amplitude dependence of…
The interplay between non-minimally coupled scalar fields and a kinetic-dominated era following the end of inflation triggers the spontaneous symmetry breaking of internal symmetries and the subsequent evolution of the fields towards large…
How is the production of primordial black holes (PBHs) in single-field models of inflation impacted by the presence of additional scalar fields? We consider the effect of a spectator field - a free scalar field with sub-Hubble mass, no…
The inflaton equation of motion including one loop radiative corrections from spectator fields is obtained. We consider a massless scalar conformally coupled to gravity and a massless fermion Yukawa coupled to the inflaton as models for…
We study the decay of scalar fields, in particular the inflaton, into lighter scalars in a De Sitter spacetime background. After providing a practical definition of the rate, we focus on the case of an inflaton interacting with a massless…