Related papers: Inflaton-induced sphaleron transitions
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…
The dynamics at the end of inflation can generate an asymmetry between particles and anti-particles of the inflaton field. This asymmetry can be transferred to baryons via decays, generating a baryon asymmetry in our Universe. We explore…
We study the instability of a scalar field at the end of hybrid inflation, using both analytical techniques and numerical simulations. We improve previous studies by taking the inflaton field fully into account, and show that the range of…
Electroweak baryogenesis could be very efficient at the end of an electroweak-scale inflation. Reheating that followed inflation could create a highly non-equilibrium plasma, in which the baryon number violating transitions were rapid. In…
We investigate the post-inflationary evolution of a non-minimally coupled inflaton field in scalar-tensor theories, framed within the flexible framework of Einstein-Cartan gravity. By focusing on a class of simplified Higgs-like scenarios,…
The coupling between a pseudo-scalar inflaton and a gauge field leads to an amount of additional density perturbations and gravitational waves (GWs) that is strongly sensitive to the inflaton speed. This naturally results in enhanced GWs at…
We study models with several $SU(2)$ scalar doublets where the inert doublets have a non-minimal coupling to gravity and play the role of the inflaton. We allow for this coupling to be complex, thereby introducing CP-violation -- a…
We show that a baryon asymmetry can be generated by dissipative effects during warm inflation via a supersymmetric two-stage mechanism, where the inflaton is coupled to heavy mediator fields that then decay into light species through B- and…
We show that the baryon asymmetry of the universe can be explained in models where the Higgs couples to the Chern-Simons term of the hypercharge group and is away from the late-time minimum of its potential during inflation. The Higgs then…
We consider the construction of inverted hybrid inflation models in which the vacuum energy during inflation is at the TeV scale, and the inflaton couples to the Higgs field. Such models are of interest in the context of some recently…
We introduce a new method that allows for the Higgs to be the inflaton. That is, we let the Higgs be a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone (pNG) boson of a global coset symmetry $G/H$ that spontaneously breaks at an energy scale $\sim 4\pi f$ and give…
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…
The Higgs-inflaton coupling plays an important role in the Higgs field dynamics in the early Universe. Even a tiny coupling generated at loop level can have a dramatic effect on the fate of the electroweak vacuum. Such Higgs-inflaton…
We consider gravitational wave production due to parametric resonance at the end of inflation, or ``preheating''. This leads to large inhomogeneities which source a stochastic background of gravitational waves at scales inside the comoving…
In this letter we explore the possibility of creating the baryon asymmetry of the universe during inflation and reheating due to the decay of a field associated with the inflaton. CP violation is attained by assuming that this field is…
A decade ago, the first leptogenesis model based on inflation was proposed, where the complex phase of the inflaton field carries lepton number. If the inflaton field is an axion, it can couple to gravitational waves and gauge fields via.…
We study the onset of symmetry breaking after hybrid inflation in a model having the field content of the SU(2) gauge-scalar sector of the standard model, coupled to a singlet inflaton. This process is studied in (3+1)-dimensions in a fully…
Fluctuations of scalar fields produced at the stage of preheating after inflation are so large that they can break supersymmetry much stronger than inflation itself. These fluctuations may lead to symmetry restoration along flat directions…
Strong coupling in Higgs inflation at high energies hinders a joint description of inflation, reheating and low-energy dynamics. The situation may be improved with a proper UV completion of the model. A well-defined self-consistent way is…
We study the problem of scalar particle production after inflation by a rapidly oscillating inflaton field. We use the framework of the chaotic inflation scenario with quartic and quadratic inflaton potentials. Particular attention is paid…