Primordial Gravitational Waves and Reheating in a New Class of Plateau-Like Inflationary Potentials

Chongchitnan, Siri

Abstract

We study a new class of inflation model parametrized by the Hubble radius, such that aH∝exp(−αφ)n. These potentials are plateau-like, and reduce to the power-law potentials in the simplest case n=2. We investigate the range of model parameters that is consistent with current observational constraints on the scalar spectral index and the tensor-to-scalar ratio. The amplitude of primordial gravitational waves in these models is shown to be accessible by future laser interferometers such as DECIGO. We also demonstrate how these observables are affected by the temperature and equation of state during reheating. We find that a large subset of this model can support instantaneous reheating, as well as very low reheating temperatures of order a few MeV, giving rise to interesting consequences for dark-matter production.

Citation

Chongchitnan, S. (2018). Primordial Gravitational Waves and Reheating in a New Class of Plateau-Like Inflationary Potentials. Universe, 4(7), Article 77. https://doi.org/10.3390/universe4070077

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 28, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Jul 2, 2018
• Publication Date: Jul 2, 2018
• Deposit Date: Apr 15, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 16, 2019
• Journal: Universe
• Electronic ISSN: 2218-1997
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 4
• Issue: 7
• Article Number: 77
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/universe4070077
• Keywords: Cosmology; Gravitational waves; Inflation
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/1588967
• Publisher URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1997/4/7/77
• Contract Date: Apr 15, 2019