A double-running inflaton mass for a flat potential and an assisted hilltop inflation

Abstract

We propose a scenario to flatten inflaton potential for a small-field slow-roll inflation from the origin. In the scenario, inflaton mass-square gets through a renormalization group running which depends on not only inflaton field but also an assisting field. Thanks to the assisting field participating in the running, initial condition for a slow-roll inflation can be set naturally, and inflaton potential can be flattened by the vacuum expectation value of the field. Applying this idea, we propose a scenario of inflation, dubbed here as \textit{assisted hilltop inflation}, which is free from the initial condition and the flatness problems of inflation.