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Title: Quantifying the 'naturalness' of the curvaton model

Journal Article · · Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
 [1];  [2]
  1. Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestraße 85, Hamburg, 22607 (Germany)
  2. Helsinki Institute of Physics, P.O. Box 64, Helsinki, FI-00014 Finland. (Finland)

We investigate the probability of obtaining an observable curvature perturbation, using as an example the minimal curvaton-higgs (MCH) model. We determine ''probably observable'' and ''probably excluded'' regions of parameter space assuming generic initial conditions and applying a stochastic approach for the curvaton's evolution during inflation. Inflation is assumed to last longer than the N{sub obs} ≅ 55 observable e-folds, and the total number of e-folds of inflation determines the particular ranges of parameters that are probable. For the MCH model, these ''probably observable'' regions always lie within the range 8 × 10{sup 4} GeV ≤ m{sub σ} ≤ 2 × 10{sup 7} GeV, where m{sub σ} is the curvaton mass, and the Hubble scale at horizon exit is chosen as H{sub *} = 10{sup 10} GeV. Because the ''probably observable'' region depends on the total duration of inflation, information on parameters in the Lagrangian from particle physics and from precision CMB observations can therefore provide information about the total duration of inflation, not just the last N{sub obs} e-folds. This method could also be applied to any model that contains additional scalar fields to determine the probability that these scalar fields contribute to the curvature perturbation.

OSTI ID:
22373462
Journal Information:
Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Vol. 2014, Issue 07; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1475-7516
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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