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Title: Just enough inflation: power spectrum modifications at large scales

Abstract

We show that models of 'just enough' inflation, where the slow-roll evolution lasted only 50- 60 e-foldings, feature modifications of the CMB power spectrum at large angular scales. We perform a systematic analytic analysis in the limit of a sudden transition between any possible non-slow-roll background evolution and the final stage of slow-roll inflation. We find a high degree of universality since most common backgrounds like fast-roll evolution, matter or radiation-dominance give rise to a power loss at large angular scales and a peak together with an oscillatory behaviour at scales around the value of the Hubble parameter at the beginning of slow-roll inflation. Depending on the value of the equation of state parameter, different pre-inflationary epochs lead instead to an enhancement of power at low ℓ, and so seem disfavoured by recent observational hints for a lack of CMB power at ℓ∼< 40. We also comment on the importance of initial conditions and the possibility to have multiple pre-inflationary stages.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3]; ;  [4]
  1. Dipartimento di Fisica ed Astronomia, Università di Bologna, via Irnerio 46, 40126 Bologna (Italy)
  2. Leung Center for Cosmology and Particle Astrophysics, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 10617, Taiwan (China)
  3. Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843-4242 (United States)
  4. Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Theory Group, D-22603 Hamburg (Germany)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22382072
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 2014; Journal Issue: 12; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 1475-7516
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; COSMOLOGICAL INFLATION; DATA; EQUATIONS OF STATE; GALACTIC EVOLUTION; MATTER; PEAKS; POWER LOSSES; SPECTRA

Citation Formats

Cicoli, Michele, Downes, Sean, Dutta, Bhaskar, Pedro, Francisco G., and Westphal, Alexander. Just enough inflation: power spectrum modifications at large scales. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2014/12/030.
Cicoli, Michele, Downes, Sean, Dutta, Bhaskar, Pedro, Francisco G., & Westphal, Alexander. Just enough inflation: power spectrum modifications at large scales. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2014/12/030
Cicoli, Michele, Downes, Sean, Dutta, Bhaskar, Pedro, Francisco G., and Westphal, Alexander. 2014. "Just enough inflation: power spectrum modifications at large scales". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2014/12/030.
@article{osti_22382072,
title = {Just enough inflation: power spectrum modifications at large scales},
author = {Cicoli, Michele and Downes, Sean and Dutta, Bhaskar and Pedro, Francisco G. and Westphal, Alexander},
abstractNote = {We show that models of 'just enough' inflation, where the slow-roll evolution lasted only 50- 60 e-foldings, feature modifications of the CMB power spectrum at large angular scales. We perform a systematic analytic analysis in the limit of a sudden transition between any possible non-slow-roll background evolution and the final stage of slow-roll inflation. We find a high degree of universality since most common backgrounds like fast-roll evolution, matter or radiation-dominance give rise to a power loss at large angular scales and a peak together with an oscillatory behaviour at scales around the value of the Hubble parameter at the beginning of slow-roll inflation. Depending on the value of the equation of state parameter, different pre-inflationary epochs lead instead to an enhancement of power at low ℓ, and so seem disfavoured by recent observational hints for a lack of CMB power at ℓ∼< 40. We also comment on the importance of initial conditions and the possibility to have multiple pre-inflationary stages.},
doi = {10.1088/1475-7516/2014/12/030},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22382072}, journal = {Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics},
issn = {1475-7516},
number = 12,
volume = 2014,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2014},
month = {Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2014}
}