On the reliability of inflaton potential reconstruction

Journal Article · Sat Aug 01 04:00:00 UTC 1998 · Physical Review, D

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.58.043002· OSTI ID:639845

Copeland, E J ^[1]; Grivell, I J ^[2]; Kolb, E W ^[3]; Liddle, A R ^[2]

---

1. Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QH (United Kingdom)
2. Astronomy Centre, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QJ (United Kingdom)
3. NASA/Fermilab Astrophysics Center, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, Illinois 60510 (United States)

If primordial scalar and tensor perturbation spectra can be inferred from observations of the cosmic background radiation and large-scale structure, then one might hope to reconstruct a unique single-field inflaton potential capable of generating the observed spectra. In this paper we examine conditions under which such a potential can be reliably reconstructed. For it to be possible at all, the spectra must be well fit by a Taylor series expansion. A complete reconstruction requires a statistically significant tensor mode to be measured in the microwave background. We find that the observational uncertainties dominate the theoretical error from use of the slow-roll approximation, and conclude that the reconstruction procedure will never insidiously lead to an irrelevant potential. {copyright} {ital 1998} {ital The American Physical Society}

• OSTI ID: 639845
• Journal Information: Physical Review, D, Journal Name: Physical Review, D Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 58; ISSN PRVDAQ; ISSN 0556-2821
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

66 PHYSICS
BACKGROUND RADIATION
COSMIC RADIATION
COSMOLOGY
INFLATIONARY UNIVERSE
PERTURBATION THEORY
POTENTIALS
SCALARS
SPECTRA
TENSORS