Curing inflationary degeneracies using reheating predictions and relic gravitational waves

DOI10.1088/1475-7516/2021/05/075zbMATH Open1485.83167arXiv2101.00271OpenAlexW3119047058MaRDI QIDQ5028161FDOQ5028161

Authors: S. S. Mishra, Varun Sahni, A. A. Starobinsky 

Publication date: 8 February 2022

Published in: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: It is well known that the inflationary scenario often displays different sets of degeneracies in its predictions for CMB observables. These degeneracies usually arise either because multiple inflationary models predict similar values for the scalar spectral index $n_{{}_S}$ and the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$, or because within the same model, the values of $lbrace{n}_{{}_S},rbrace$ are insensitive to some of the model parameters, making it difficult for CMB observations alone to constitute a unique probe of inflationary cosmology. We demonstrate that by taking into account constraints on the post-inflationary reheating parameters such as the duration of reheating $N_{{}_{mre}}$, its temperature $T_{{}_{mre}}$ and especially its equation of state (EOS), $w_{{}_{mre}}$, it is possible to break this degeneracy in certain classes of inflationary models where identical values of $lbrace{n}_{{}_S},rbrace$ can correspond to different reheating $w_{{}_{mre}}$. In particular, we show how reheating constraints can break inflationary degeneracies in the T-model and the E-model $alpha$-attractors. Non-canonical inflation is also studied. The relic gravitational wave (GW) spectrum provides us with another tool to break inflationary degeneracies. This is because the GW spectrum is sensitive to the post-inflationary EOS of the universe. Indeed a stiff EOS during reheating $(w_{{}_{mre}}>1/3)$ gives rise to a small scale blue tilt in the spectral index $n_{{}_{mGW}}=fracdlogOmeg{a}_{{}_{mGW}}dlogk>0$, while a soft EOS $(w_{{}_{mre}}<1/3)$ results in a red tilt. Relic GWs therefore provide us with valuable information about the post-inflationary epoch, and their spectrum can be used to cure inflationary degeneracies in $lbrace{n}_{{}_S},rbrace$.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/2101.00271

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zbMATH Keywords

inflationphysics of the early universegravitational waves/theoryprimordial gravitational waves (theory)

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Classical and relativistic thermodynamics (80A10) Relativistic cosmology (83F05) Constrained dynamics, Dirac's theory of constraints (70H45) Gravitational waves (83C35) Geometrodynamics and the holographic principle (83E05) Mono-, di- and multipole moments (EM and other), gyromagnetic relations (81V60)

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Cited In (8)

• Novel CMB constraints on the α parameter in alpha-attractor models
• Impact of dark sector preheating on CMB observables
• Model independent results for the inflationary epoch and the breaking of the degeneracy of models of inflation
• Model independent bounds for the number of e-folds during the evolution of the universe
• Formation and decay of oscillons after inflation in the presence of an external coupling. I: Lattice simulations
• Chaotic inflation and reheating in generalized scalar-tensor gravity
• Further investigation about inflation and reheating stages based on the Planck and WMAP-9
• CMB constraints on the inflaton couplings and reheating temperature in \(\alpha\)-attractor inflation

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