Related papers: QCD Axion Hybrid Inflation
We revisit the isocurvature density perturbations induced by quantum fluctuations of the axion field by extending a recently developed analytic method and approximations to a time-dependent scalar potential, which enables us to follow the…
We consider the Chern--Simons term coupled to the inflaton in the Palatini formulation of general relativity. In contrast to the metric formulation, here the Chern--Simons term affects also the background evolution. We approximately solve…
We consider a supersymmetric grand unified model which naturally solves the strong CP and mu problems via a Peccei-Quinn symmetry and leads to the standard realization of hybrid inflation. We show that the Peccei-Quinn field of this model…
Axion inflation, i.e. an axion-like inflaton coupled to an Abelian gauge field through a Chern-Simons interaction, comes with a rich and testable phenomenology. This is particularly true in the strong backreaction regime, where the gauge…
Observable primordial tensor modes in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) would point to a high scale of inflation $H_{I}$. If the scale of Peccei-Quinn (PQ) breaking $f_a$ is greater than $\frac{H_{I}}{2\pi}$, CMB constraints on…
The companion-axion model introduces a second QCD axion to rescue the Peccei-Quinn solution to the strong-CP problem from the effects of colored gravitational instantons. As in single-axion models, the two axions predicted by the…
Cosmological inflation gives a natural answer for a variety of cosmological questions, including the horizon problem, the flatness problem, and others. However, inflation yields new questions relating to the flatness of the inflaton…
Using only general properties of the tachyon potential we show that inflation may be generic when many branes and anti-branes become coincident. Inflation may occur because of: (1) the assistance of the many diagonal tachyon fields; (2)…
In this talk we discuss a model of inflation based on a simple variant of the NMSSM, called $\phi$NMSSM \cite{phiNMSSM}, where the additional singlet $\phi$ plays the role of the inflaton in hybrid (or inverted hybrid) type models. As in…
We show that the vacuum expectation value of the inflaton at the Peccei-Quinn axion scale can generate the supersymmetric Higgs mass $\mu$ term. This provides an inflationary simultaneous solution to the strong CP problem and the $\mu$…
Considerable theoretical efforts have gone into expanding the reach of the QCD axion beyond its canonical mass--decay-constant relation. The $Z_\mathcal{N}$ QCD axion model reduces the QCD axion mass naturally, by invoking a discrete…
The BICEP2 observations, if confirmed, point to a high scale of inflation and large field excursions during the inflationary era. Non-compact string moduli spaces are a suggestive setting for these phenomena. While unlikely to be described…
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…
The previous proposal (by two of us) of chain inflation with the QCD axion is shown to fail. The proposal involved a series of fast tunneling events, yet here it is shown that tunneling is too slow. We calculate the bubble nucleation rates…
Inverted hybrid inflation (in which the inflaton field slowly rolls away from the origin, giving a spectral index $n\lsim 1$) is an appealing variant of the more usually studied hybrid model. Analysing the model alongside the ordinary…
We explore a new class of supersymmetric models of inflation where the inflaton is realised as a combination of a Higgs field and (gauge non-singlet) matter fields, using a "tribrid" structure of the superpotential. Inflation is associated…
A supersymmetric model based on a left-right symmetric gauge group, which `naturally' leads to hybrid inflation, is studied. It is shown that the mu problem can be easily solved in this model. The observed baryon asymmetry of the universe…
Inflaton couplings during warm inflation result in the production of a thermal bath. Thermal friction and fluctuations can dominate the standard de Sitter analogues, resulting in a modified slow-roll scenario with a new source of density…
In a previous paper, we proposed a simple extension of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model which gives rise to thermal inflation and baryogenesis in a natural and remarkably consistent way. In this paper, we consider the $\lambda_\phi…
Warm inflation is a well-motivated and generalized framework of inflation, describing a coupled inflaton-radiation bath. In this work, we investigate a warm inflation model with a quartic potential and a composite dissipation coefficient…