Related papers: Flavored axion-monodromy inflation
We investigate the axion inflation model derived by poly-instanton effects in type II superstring theories. Poly-instanton effects are instanton effects corrected by another instanton and it can generate the modulus-axion potential with the…
We revisit axion monodromy inflation in the context of UV-inspired models and point out that its cosmological observables are sensitive to heavy fields with masses far above the Hubble scale, such as the moduli of flux compactifications. By…
We study the realisation of axion inflation models in the complex structure moduli spaces of Calabi-Yau threefolds and fourfolds. The axions arise close to special points of these moduli spaces that admit discrete monodromy symmetries of…
Models of inflation based on axions, which owe their popularity to the robustness against UV corrections, have also a very distinct class of signatures. The relevant interactions of the axion are a non-perturbative oscillating contribution…
We show that a minimal extension of the Standard Model including a new complex scalar field can explain inflation and the observed effective number of neutrinos. The real part of the singlet plays the role of the inflaton field, while the…
Supersymmetric hybrid inflation is an exquisite framework to connect inflationary cosmology to particle physics at the scale of grand unification. Ending in a phase transition associated with spontaneous symmetry breaking, it can naturally…
We derive a one-loop effective description of axion inflation by integrating out a heavy Dirac fermion with an inflaton-dependent complex mass undergoing a smooth localized threshold transition. The threshold induces correlated corrections…
In models of natural inflation, the inflaton is an axion-like particle. Unfortunately, axion potentials in UV-complete theories appear to be too steep to drive inflation. We show that, even for a steep potential, natural inflation can occur…
Supersymmetric theories supplemented by an underlying flavor-symmetry $\mathcal{G}_f$ provide a rich playground for model building aimed at explaining the flavor structure of the Standard Model. In the case where supersymmetry breaking is…
Models such as Natural Inflation that use Pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone bosons (PNGB's) as the inflaton are attractive for many reasons. However, they typically require trans-Planckian field excursions $\Delta \Phi>M_{\rm Pl}$, due to the need for…
We study the recently found anomalies in $B$-meson decays within a scenario with a warped extra dimension where the Standard Model fermions are propagating in the bulk. The anomalies are then interpreted as the result of the exchange of…
Flux couplings to string theory axions yield super-Planckian field ranges along which the axion potential energy grows. At the same time, other aspects of the physics remain essentially unchanged along these large displacements, respecting…
In the so-called natural inflation, an axion-like inflaton is assumed to have a cosine-type periodic potential. This is not the case in a very simple model in which the axion-like inflaton is coupled to an SU(N) (or other) pure Yang-Mills,…
We propose a landscape of many axions, where the axion potential receives various contributions from shift symmetry breaking effects. We show that the existence of the axion with a super-Planckian decay constant is very common in the axion…
We construct a hybrid-inflation model where the inflaton potential is generated radiatively, as gauge symmetries guarantee it to be accidentally flat at tree level. The model can be regarded as a small-field version of Natural Inflation,…
An axion-like inflaton coupled to non-Abelian gauge bosons provides a compelling microphysical framework for warm inflation. Starting even from cold initial conditions, in these systems, sphaleron heating may generate thermal friction…
Global topological defects may account for the large cold spot observed in the Cosmic Microwave Background. We explore possibilities of constructing models of supersymmetric F-term hybrid inflation, where the waterfall fields are globally…
We show how successful supersymmetric hybrid inflation is realized in realistic models where the resolution of the minimal supersymmetric standard model mu problem is intimately linked with axion physics. The scalar fields that accompany…
With the advent of new missions to probe spectral distortions of the cosmic microwave background with unprecedented precision, the study of theoretical predictions of these signals becomes a promising avenue to test our description of the…
In models of inflation driven by an axion-like pseudoscalar field, the inflaton, a, may couple to the standard model hypercharge via a Chern-Simons-type interaction, $L \subset a/(4\Lambda) F\tilde{F}$. This coupling results in explosive…