Related papers: When Does the Inflaton Decay?
The mechanism of thermal inflation, a relatively short period of accelerated expansion after primordial inflation, is a desirable ingredient for a certain class of particle physics models if they are not to be in contention with the…
We revisit the scenario where inflation is preceded by a radiation era by considering that the inflaton too could have been in thermal equilibrium early in the radiation era. Hence we take into account not only the effect of a…
The impact of particle production during inflation on the primordial curvature perturbation spectrum is investigated both analytically and numerically. We obtain an oscillatory behavior on small scales, while on large scales the spectrum is…
A new theory of thermal history after inflation is outlined by taking into account the effect of parametric resonance caused by inflaton oscillation. A typical outcome is existence of a high temperature phase, that makes possible GUT…
We analyze the dynamics of models of warm inflation with general dissipative effects. We consider phenomenological terms both for the inflaton decay rate and for viscous effects within matter. We provide a classification of the asymptotic…
In this work, we consider homogeneous oscillations of the inflaton field after inflation. In particular, we obtain an analytical result for the (average) equation of state for the oscillating inflaton field for the simplest…
We consider the influence of mode - mode coupling in the inflaton field on the spectrum of primordial fluctuations. To this end, we formulate a phenomenological model where the inflaton fluctuations are treated as a fluid undergoing…
The warm inflation paradigm considers the continuous production of radiation during inflation due to dissipative effects. In its strong dissipation limit, warm inflation gives way to a radiation dominated Universe. High scale inflation then…
We consider the decay of the inflaton in Starobinsky-like models arising from either an $R+R^2$ theory of gravity or $N=1$ no-scale supergravity models. If Standard Model matter is simply introduced to the $R + R^2$ theory, the inflaton…
We study (p)reheating in modular (closed string) inflationary scenarios, with a special emphasis on Kahler moduli/Roulette models. It is usually assumed that reheating in such models occurs through perturbative decays. However, we find that…
It has been shown that hybrid inflation may end with the formation of non-topological solitons of inflaton field. As a first step towards a fully realistic picture of the post-inflation era and reheating in supersymmetric hybrid inflation…
In order to solve the fine-tuning problem of the cosmological constant, we propose a simple model with the vacuum energy non-minimally coupled to the inflaton field. In this model, the vacuum energy decays to the inflaton during…
The energy scale of inflation is of much interest, as it suggests the scale of grand unified physics and also governs whether cosmological events such as topological defect formation can occur after inflation. The COBE results are used to…
Inflation universally produces classical almost scale free Gaussian inhomogeneities of any light scalars. Assuming the coupling constants at the time of inflation depend on some light moduli fields, we encounter the generation of modulated…
During cosmological inflation, it has been suggested that fields coupled to the inflaton can be excited by the slow-rolling inflaton into a quasi-stable non-vacuum state. Within this scenario of ``warm inflation'', this could allow for a…
The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe microwave background data suggest that the primordial spectrum of scalar curvature fluctuations is suppressed at small wavenumbers. We propose a UV/IR mixing effect in small-field inflationary models…
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…
Understanding the physics of inflaton condensate fragmentation in the early Universe is crucial as the existence of fragments in the form of non-topological solitons (oscillons or Q-balls) may potentially modify the evolution of the…
We consider hybrid inflation for small couplings of the inflaton to matter such that the critical value of the inflaton field exceeds the Planck mass. It has recently been shown that inflation then continues at subcritical inflaton field…
We have proposed a new class of inflationary scenarios in which the first stage of expansion is driven by "old" false vacuum inflation. This ends by nucleation of a bubble, which then further inflates. Unlike the standard slow-roll…