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arXiv · 1112.0954

Unitarity-violation in Generalized Higgs Inflation Models

Rose N. Lerner·John McDonald
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Abstract

Unitarity-violation presents a challenge for non-minimally coupled models of inflation based on weak-scale particle physics. We examine the energy scale of tree-level unitarity-violation in scattering processes for generalized models with multiple scalar fields where the inflaton is either a singlet scalar or the Higgs. In the limit that the non-minimal couplings are all equal (e.g. in the case of Higgs or other complex inflaton), the scale of tree-level unitarity-violation matches the existing result. However if the inflaton is a singlet, and if it has a larger non-minimal coupling than other scalars in the model, then this hierarchy increases the scale of tree-level unitarity-violation. A sufficiently strong hierarchy pushes the scale of tree-level unitarity-violation above the Planck scale. We also discuss models which attempt to resolve the issue of unitarity-violation in Higgs Inflation.

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Rose N. Lerner, John McDonald. 2012-11-09. Unitarity-violation in Generalized Higgs Inflation Models. https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516%2F2012%2F11%2F019

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