arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Andrei Linde.
We introduce a novel non-minimal coupling between gravity and the inflaton sector. Remarkably, for large values of this coupling all models asymptote to a universal attractor. This behavior is independent of the original scalar potential and generalizes the attractor in the phi^4 theory with non-minimal coupling to gravity. The attractor is located in the `sweet spot' of Planck's recent results.
I give a general review of inflationary cosmology and of its present status, in view of the 2013 data release by the Planck satellite. A specific emphasis is given to the new broad class of theories, the cosmological attractors, which have nearly model-independent predictions converging at the sweet spot of the Planck data in the (n_s,r) plane. I also discuss the problem of initial conditions for the theories favored by the Planck data.
In the superconformal formulation of supergravity, the standard supergravity action appears as a result of spontaneous symmetry breaking when the conformal compensator scalar field, the conformon, acquires a nonzero value, giving rise to the Planck mass. After that, many symmetries of the original theory become well hidden, and therefore they are often ignored. However, recent developments demonstrated that superconformal invariance is more than just a tool: it plays an important role in generalizing previously existing formulations of supergravity and developing new classes of inflationary models. In this paper we describe hidden superconformal symmetry of the cosmological evolution. In this formulation, inflation can be equivalently described as the conformon instability, and creation of the universe `from nothing' can be interpreted as spontaneous symmetry breaking due to emergence of a classical conformon field. We develop a general formalism that allows to describe the cosmological evolution simultaneously with the evolution of the conformon. We find a set of gauge invariant physical observables, including the superconformally invariant generalizations of the square of the Weyl tensor, which are necessary for invariant description of the cosmological singularities.
We study higher order corrections in new minimal supergravity models of a single scalar field inflation. The gauging in these models leads to a massive vector multiplet and the D-term potential for the inflaton field with a coupling g^{2} ~ 10^{-10}. In the de-Higgsed phase with vanishing g^2, the chiral and vector multiplets are non-interacting, and the potential vanishes. We present generic manifestly supersymmetric higher order corrections for these models. In particular, for a supersymmetric gravity model -R+ R^2 we derive manifestly supersymmetric corrections corresponding to R^n. The dual version corresponds to a standard supergravity model with a single scalar and a massive vector. It includes, in addition, higher Maxwell curvature/scalar interaction terms of the Born-Infeld type and a modified D-term scalar field potential. We use the dual version of the model to argue that higher order corrections do not affect the last 60 e-foldings of inflation; for example the ξR^4 correction is irrelevant as long as ξ< 10^{24}.
Recently a broad class of superconformal inflationary models was found leading to a universal observational prediction $n_s=1-2/N$ and $r=12/N^2$. Here we generalize this class of models by introducing a parameter $α$ inversely proportional to the curvature of the inflaton Kahler manifold. In the small curvature (large $α$) limit, the observational predictions of this class of models coincide with the predictions of generic chaotic inflation models. However, for sufficiently large curvature (small $α$), the predictions converge to the universal attractor regime with $n_s=1-2/N$ and $r=12α/N^2$, which corresponds to the part of the $n_s-r$ plane favored by the Planck data.
We present a superconformal master action for a class of supergravity models with one arbitrary function defining the Jordan frame. It leads to a gauge-invariant action for a real vector multiplet, which upon gauge fixing describes a massive vector multiplet, or to a dual formulation with a linear multiplet and a massive tensor field. In both cases the models have one real scalar, the inflaton, naturally suited for single-field inflation. Vectors and tensors required by supersymmetry to complement a single real scalar do not acquire vev's during inflation, so there is no need to stabilize the extra scalars which are always present in the theories with chiral matter multiplets. The new class of models can describe any inflaton potential which vanishes at its minimum and grows monotonically away from the minimum. In this class of supergravity models one can fit any desirable choice of inflationary parameters n_s and r.
We develop a new class of chaotic inflation models with spontaneously broken conformal invariance. Observational consequences of a broad class of such models are stable with respect to strong deformations of the scalar potential. This universality is a critical phenomenon near the point of enhanced symmetry, SO(1,1), in case of conformal inflation. It appears because of the exponential stretching of the moduli space and the resulting exponential flattening of scalar potentials upon switching from the Jordan frame to the Einstein frame in this class of models. This result resembles stretching and flattening of inhomogeneities during inflationary expansion. It has a simple interpretation in terms of velocity versus rapidity near the Kahler cone in the moduli space, similar to the light cone of special theory of relativity. This effect makes inflation possible even in the models with very steep potentials. We describe conformal and superconformal versions of this cosmological attractor mechanism.
Recently we identified a new class of (super)conformally invariant theories which allow inflation even if the scalar potential is very steep in terms of the original conformal variables. Observational predictions of a broad class of such theories are nearly model-independent. In this paper we consider generalized versions of these models where the inflaton has a non-minimal coupling to gravity with ξ<0 different from its conformal value ξ= -1/6. We show that these models exhibit attractor behavior. With even a slight increase of |ξ| from |ξ| = 0, predictions of these models for n_s and r rapidly converge to their universal model-independent values corresponding to conformal coupling ξ= -1/6. These values of n_s and r practically coincide with the corresponding values in the limit of infinitely large negative ξ.
We describe a broad class of multi-field inflationary models with spontaneously broken conformal invariance. It generalizes the recently discovered class of cosmological attractors with a single inflaton field. In the new multi-field theories, just as in the previously studied single-field models, the moduli space has a boundary (Kahler cone) in terms of the original homogeneous conformal variables. Upon spontaneous breaking of the conformal invariance and switching to the Einstein frame, this boundary moves to infinity in terms of the canonically normalized inflaton field. This results in the exponential stretching and flattening of scalar potentials in the vicinity of the boundary of the moduli space, which makes even very steep potentials perfectly suitable for the slow-roll inflation. These theories, just like their single-field versions, typically lead to inflationary perturbations with n_s =1-2/N and r = 12/N^2, where N is the number of e-foldings.
A model of chaotic inflation based on the theory of a scalar field with potential λϕ^4 perfectly matches the observational data if one adds to it a tiny non-minimal coupling to gravity -ξ/2 ϕ^2 R with ξ> 0.002. We describe embedding of this model into the superconformal theory with spontaneous breaking of superconformal symmetry, and into supergravity. A model with small ξis technically natural: setting the small parameter ξto zero leads to a point of enhanced symmetry in the underlying superconformal theory.
We find a way to represent the Starobinsky model in terms of a simple conformally invariant theory with spontaneous symmetry breaking. We also present a superconformal theory, which, upon spontaneous breaking of the superconformal symmetry, provides a consistent supergravity generalization of the Starobinsky model.
When inflation is driven by a pseudo-scalar field χcoupled to vectors as α/4 χF \tilde F, this coupling may lead to a copious production of gauge quanta, which in turns induces non-Gaussian and non-scale invariant corrections to curvature perturbations. We point out that this mechanism is generically at work in a broad class of inflationary models in supergravity hence providing them with a rich set of observational predictions. When the gauge fields are massless, significant effects on CMB scales emerge only for relatively large α. We show that in this regime, the curvature perturbations produced at the last stages of inflation have a relatively large amplitude that is of the order of the upper bound set by the possible production of primordial black holes by non-Gaussian perturbations. On the other hand, within the supergravity framework described in our paper, the gauge fields can often acquire a mass through a coupling to additional light scalar fields. Perturbations of these fields modulate the duration of inflation, which serves as a source for non-Gaussian perturbations of the metric. In this regime, the bounds from primordial black holes are parametrically satisfied and non-Gaussianity of the local type can be generated at the observationally interesting level f_NL =O(10).
We describe a simple model of chaotic inflation in supergravity where one can easily tune not only the basic cosmological parameters such as n_{s}, r, and f_NL, but also a possible (subdominant) cosmic string contribution to the CMB anisotropy.
We describe the resulting phenomenology of string theory/supergravity models with strong moduli stabilization. The KL model with F-term uplifting, is one such example. Models of this type predict universal scalar masses equal to the gravitino mass. In contrast, A-terms receive highly suppressed gravity mediated contributions. Under certain conditions, the same conclusion is valid for gaugino masses, which like A-terms, are then determined by anomalies. In such models, we are forced to relatively large gravitino masses (30-1000 TeV). We compute the low energy spectrum as a function of m_{3/2}. We see that the Higgs masses naturally takes values between 125-130 GeV. The lower limit is obtained from the requirement of chargino masses greater than 104 GeV, while the upper limit is determined by the relic density of dark matter (wino-like).
We consider the phenomenological consequences of fixing compactification moduli. In the simplest KKLT constructions, stabilization of internal dimensions is rather soft: weak scale masses for moduli are generated, and are of order m_σ~ m_{3/2}. As a consequence one obtains a pattern of soft supersymmetry breaking masses found in gravity and/or anomaly mediated supersymmetry breaking (AMSB) models. These models may lead to destabilization of internal dimensions in the early universe, unless the Hubble constant during inflation is very small. Fortunately, strong stabilization of compactified dimensions can be achieved by a proper choice of the superpotential (e.g in the KL model with a racetrack superpotential). This allows for a solution of the cosmological moduli problem and for a successful implementation of inflation in supergravity. We show that strong moduli stabilization leads a very distinct pattern of soft supersymmetry breaking masses. In general, we find that soft scalar masses remain of order the gravitino mass, while gaugino masses nearly vanish at the tree level, i.e. they are of order m_{3/2}^2/m_σ. Radiative corrections generate contributions to gaugino masses reminiscent of AMSB models and a decoupled spectrum of scalars reminiscent of split-supersymmetry. This requires a relatively large gravitino mass ~ O(100) TeV, resolving the cosmological gravitino problem and problems with tachyonic staus in AMSB models.
Open inflation scenario is attracting a renewed interest in the context of string landscape. Since there are a large number of metastable de Sitter vacua in string landscape, tunneling transitions to lower metastable vacua through the bubble nucleation occur quite naturally. Although the deviation of Omega_0 from unity is small by the observational bound, we argue that the effect of this small deviation on the large angle CMB anisotropies can be significant for tensor-type perturbation in open inflation scenario. We consider the situation in which there is a large hierarchy between the energy scale of the quantum tunneling and that of the slow-roll inflation in the nucleated bubble. If the potential just after tunneling is steep enough, a rapid-roll phase appears before the slow-roll inflation. In this case the power spectrum is basically determined by the Hubble rate during the slow-roll inflation. If such rapid-roll phase is absent, the power spectrum keeps the memory of the high energy density there in the large angular components. The amplitude of large angular components can be enhanced due to the effects of the wall fluctuation mode if the bubble wall tension is small. Therefore, one can construct some models in which the deviation of Omega_0 from unity is large enough to produce measurable effects. We also consider a more general class of models, where the false vacuum decay may occur due to Hawking-Moss tunneling, as well as the models involving more than one scalar field. We discuss scalar perturbations in these models and point out that a large set of such models is already ruled out by observational data, unless there was a very long stage of slow-roll inflation after the tunneling. These results show that observational data allow us to test various assumptions concerning the structure of the string theory potentials and the duration of the last stage of inflation.
We investigate the recently proposed class of chaotic inflation models in supergravity with an arbitrary inflaton potential. These models are extended to include matter fields in the visible sector and we employ a mechanism of SUSY breaking based on a particular phenomenological version of the KKLT mechanism (the KL model). We describe specific features of reheating in this class of models and show how one can solve the cosmological moduli and gravitino problems in this context.
We discuss observational consequences of the curvaton scenario, which naturally appears in the context of the simplest model of chaotic inflation in supergravity. The non-gaussianity parameter f_NL in this scenario can take values in the observationally interesting range from O(10) to O(100). These values may be different in different parts of the universe. The regions where f_NL is particularly large form a curvaton web resembling a net of thick domain walls, strings, or global monopoles.