Natural inflation: Status after WMAP 3-year data
Journal Article
·
· Physical Review. D, Particles Fields
- Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 (United States)
- Department of Physics, Univerity at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, New York 14260 (United States)
The model of natural inflation is examined in light of recent 3-year data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe and shown to provide a good fit. The inflaton potential is naturally flat due to shift symmetries, and in the simplest version takes the form V({phi})={lambda}{sup 4}[1{+-}cos(N{phi}/f)]. The model agrees with WMAP3 measurements as long as f>0.7m{sub Pl} (where m{sub Pl}=1.22x10{sup 19} GeV) and {lambda}{approx}m{sub GUT}. The running of the scalar spectral index is shown to be small--an order of magnitude below the sensitivity of WMAP3. The location of the field in the potential when perturbations on observable scales are produced is examined; for f>5m{sub Pl}, the relevant part of the potential is indistinguishable from a quadratic, yet has the advantage that the required flatness is well-motivated. Depending on the value of f, the model falls into the large field (f{>=}1.5m{sub Pl}) or small field (f<1.5m{sub Pl}) classification scheme that has been applied to inflation models. Natural inflation provides a good fit to WMAP3 data.
- OSTI ID:
- 20868181
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. D, Particles Fields, Journal Name: Physical Review. D, Particles Fields Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 74; ISSN PRVDAQ; ISSN 0556-2821
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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