Sub-Planckian two-field inflation consistent with the Lyth bound
- Department of Physics, University of Lancaster, Lancaster LA1 4YB (United Kingdom)
The BICEP2 observation of a large tensor-to-scalar ratio, r = 0.20{sup +0.07}{sub -0.05}, implies that the inflaton φ in single-field inflation models must satisfy φ ∼ 10M{sub Pl} in order to produce sufficient inflation. This is a problem if interaction terms suppressed by the Planck scale impose a bound φ ∼< M{sub Pl}. Here we consider whether it is possible to have successful sub-Planckian inflation in the case of two-field inflation. The trajectory in field space cannot be radial if the effective single-field inflaton is to satisfy the Lyth bound. By considering a complex field Φ, we show that a near circular but aperiodic modulation of a |Φ|{sup 4} potential can reproduce the results of φ{sup 2} chaotic inflation for n{sub s} and r while satisfying |Φ| ∼< 0.01 M{sub Pl} throughout. More generally, for models based on a |Φ|{sup 4} potential, the simplest sub-Planckian models are equivalent to φ{sup 2} and φ{sup 4/3} chaotic inflation.
- OSTI ID:
- 22375880
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Vol. 2014, Issue 09; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1475-7516
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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