Type-II Seesaw Leptogenesis along the Ridge

Abstract

Type-II seesaw leptogenesis is a model that integrates inflation, baryon number asymmetry, and neutrino mass simultaneously. It employs the Affleck-Dine mechanism to generate lepton asymmetry, with the Higgs bosons serving as the inflaton. Previous studies assumed inflation to occur in a valley of the potential, employing the single-field approximation. In this work, we explore an alternative scenario for the type-II seesaw leptogenesis, where the inflation takes place along a ridge of the potential. Firstly, we conduct a comprehensive numerical calculation in the canonical scenario, where inflation occurs in a valley, confirming the effectiveness of the single-field approximation. Then, we introduce a novel scenario wherein inflation initiates along the potential's ridge and transitions to the valley in the late stages. In this case, the single-field inflation approximation is no longer valid, yet leptogenesis is still successfully achieved. We find that this scenario can generate a significant non-Gaussianity signature, offering testable predictions for future experiments.