arXiv subjects

James M. Cline

Publications and source records attributed to James M. Cline.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

How Delicate is Brane-Antibrane Inflation?

We systematically explore the parameter space of the state-of-the-art brane-antibrane inflation model (Baumann {\it et al}., arXiv:0706.0360, arXiv:0705.3837) which is one of the most rigorously derived from string theory, applying the cosmic background explorer normalization and constraint on the spectral index. We improve on previous treatments of uplifting by antibranes and show that the contributions from noninflationary throats play an important role in achieving a flat inflationary potential. To quantify the degree of fine-tuning needed by the model, we define an effective volume in the part of parameter space which is consistent with experimental constraints, and using Monte Carlo methods to search for a set of optimal parameters, we show that the degree of fine-tuning is alleviated by 8 orders of magnitude relative to a fiducial point which has previously been considered. In fact, close to the optimal parameter values, fine-tuning is no longer needed for any of the parameters. We show that in this natural region of the parameter space, larger values of $n_s$ close to 0.99 (still within 2$σ$ of the WMAP5 central value) are favored, giving a new aspect of testability to the model.

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arXiv2008

Curvature Spectra and Nongaussianities in the Roulette Inflation Model

Using the gradient expansion method of Rigopoulos, Shellard and van Tent which treats cosmological perturbations as gradients on top of a homogeneous and isotropic FRW background, we study the production of nongaussianities in the roulette model of inflation. Investigating a number of trajectories within this two-field model of inflation, we find that while the superhorizon influence of the isocurvature modes on the curvature bispectrum produces nonzero contribution to f_NL, the effect is negligible next to the standard inflationary prediction |f_NL| ~ n_s - 1. This is the case in both the squeezed and equilateral configurations of the bispectrum, although the former is slightly larger in the trajectories under consideration.

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arXiv2008

The Electroweak Phase Transition in Nearly Conformal Technicolor

We examine the temperature-dependent electroweak phase transition in extensions of the Standard Model in which the electroweak symmetry is spontaneously broken via strongly coupled, nearly-conformal dynamics. In particular, we focus on the low energy effective theory used to describe Minimal Walking Technicolor at the phase transition. Using the one-loop effective potential with ring improvement, we identify significant regions of parameter space which yield a sufficiently strong first order transition for electroweak baryogenesis. The composite particle spectrum corresponding to these regions can be produced and studied at the Large Hadron Collider experiment. We note the possible emergence of a second phase transition at lower temperatures. This occurs when the underlying technicolor theory possesses a nontrivial center symmetry.

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arXiv2008

Predictions for Nongaussianity from Nonlocal Inflation

In our previous work the nonlinearity parameter f_NL, which characterizes nongaussianity in the cosmic microwave background, was estimated for a class of inflationary models based on nonlocal field theory. These models include p-adic inflation and generically have the remarkable property that slow roll inflation can proceed even with an extremely steep potential. Previous calculations found that large nongaussianity is possible; however, the technical complications associated with studying perturbations in theories with infinitely many derivatives forced us to provide only an order of magnitude estimate for f_NL. We reconsider the problem of computing f_NL in nonlocal inflation models, showing that a particular choice of field basis and recent progress in cosmological perturbation theory makes an exact computation possible. We provide the first quantitatively accurate computation of the bispectrum in nonlocal inflation, confirming our previous claim that it can be observably large. We show that the shape of the bispectrum in this class of models makes it observationally distinguishable from Dirac-Born-Infeld inflation models.

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arXiv2008

Features and nongaussianity in the inflationary power spectrum

I summarize recent work on (1) constraining spike-like features in the cosmic microwave background and large scale structure; (2) nonstandard Friedmann equation in stabilized warped 6D brane cosmology, with applications to inflation; and (3) nonlocal inflation models, motivated by string theory, which can yield large nongaussian CMB fluctuations. Work in collaboration with N. Barnaby, T. Biswas, F. Chen, L. Hoi, G. Holder and S. Kanno.

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arXiv2008

Kaluza-Klein relics from warped reheating

It has been suggested that after brane-antibrane inflation in a Klebanov-Strassler (KS) warped throat, metastable Kaluza-Klein (KK) excitations can be formed due to nearly-conserved angular momenta along isometric directions in the throat. If sufficiently long-lived, these relics could conflict with big bang nucleosynthesis or baryogenesis by dominating the energy density of the universe. We make a detailed estimate of the decay rate of such relics using the low energy effective action of type IIB string theory compactified on the throat geometry, with attention to powers of the warp factor. We find that it is necessary to turn on SUSY-breaking deformations of the KS background in order to ensure that the most dangerous relics will decay fast enough. The decay rate is found to be much larger than the naive guess based on the dimension of the operators which break the angular isometries of the throat. For an inflationary warp factor of order $w\sim 10^{-4}$, we obtain the bound $M_{3/2} \gsim 10^9$ GeV on the scale of SUSY breaking to avoid cosmological problems from the relics, which is satisfied in the KKLT construction assumed to stabilize the compactification. Given the requirement that the relics decay before nucleosynthesis or baryogenesis, we place bounds on the mass of the relic as a function of the warp factor in the throat for more general warped backgrounds.

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arXiv2008

Modified Friedmann Equation and Inflation in Warped Codimension-two Braneworld

We study the Friedmann equation for the warped codimension-two braneworld background which most closely resembles the Randall-Sundrum model. Extra matter on the (Planck) 4-brane, with equation of state p_θ=(α-1)ρfor the azimuthal pressure, is required to satisfy the junction conditions. For 1 < α< 5, we show that there are two static solutions to the Einstein equations for given values of the brane stress-energies. Close to the static solutions, the relation between Hubble expansion rate H and brane tension reproduces the standard 4D result for small H, but exhibits unusual deviations when H is of order the AdS curvature scale. The two static branches for 1 <α< 5 are shown to come together smoothly at a maximum value of H; however the radion is shown to be unstable in the branch with higher H. This remains true even with a mechanism for stabilization of the radion, i.e., the Goldberger-Wise (GW) mechanism, since large enough H overcomes the force of stabilization. Even in the unstabilized case, cosmological constraints on the time and spatial variation of Newton's constant are typically satisfied; only fifth force constraints require the stabilization. For α> 5 the model is intrinsically stable, without the need for a GW field, and in this case we show that inflationary predictions can be modified by the nonstandard Friedmann equation; in particular it is possible to get an upper limit on the spectral index, large deviations from the consistency condition between the tensor spectrum and ratio r, and large running of the spectral index even though the slow roll parameters remain small.

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arXiv2007

Predictions of the causal entropic principle for environmental conditions of the universe

The causal entropic principle has been proposed as a superior alternative to the anthropic principle for understanding the magnitude of the cosmological constant. In this approach, the probability to create observers is assumed to be proportional to the entropy production ΔS in a maximal causally connected region -- the causal diamond. We improve on the original treatment by better quantifying the entropy production due to stars, using an analytic model for the star formation history which accurately accounts for changes in cosmological parameters. We calculate the dependence of ΔS on the density contrast Q=δρ/ρ, and find that our universe is much closer to the most probable value of Q than in the usual anthropic approach and that probabilities are relatively weakly dependent on this amplitude. In addition, we make first estimates of the dependence of ΔS on the baryon fraction and overall matter abundance. Finally, we also explore the possibility that decays of dark matter, suggested by various observed gamma ray excesses, might produce a comparable amount of entropy to stars.

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arXiv2007

Electroweak Phase Transition in Two Higgs Doublet Models

We reexamine the strength of the first order phase transition in the electroweak theory supplemented by an extra Higgs doublet. The finite-temperature effective potential, $V_{eff}$, is computed to one-loop order, including the summation of ring diagrams, to study the ratio $ϕ_c/T_c$ of the Higgs field VEV to the critical temperature. We make a number of improvements over previous treatments, including a consistent treatment of Goldstone bosons in $V_{eff}$, an accurate analytic approximation to $V_{eff}$ valid for any mass-to-temperature ratios, and use of the experimentally measured top quark mass. For two-Higgs doublet models, we identify a significant region of parameter space where $ϕ_c/T_c$ is large enough for electroweak baryogenesis, and we argue that this identification should persist even at higher orders in perturbation theory. In the case of the minimal supersymmetric standard model, our results indicate that the extra Higgs bosons have little effect on the strength of the phase transition.

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arXiv2007

Fine-Tuning in Brane-antibrane Inflation

I give a brief overview of brane-antibrane inflation, with emphasis on the problems of tuning to get a flat potential in the KKLMMT framework, and recent work on the nature of superpotential corrections in that model.

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arXiv2007

Braneworld Cosmology

A brief review of the field of braneworld cosmology, from its inception with the large extra dimension scenario, to aspects of cosmology in warped extra dimensions, including the RS-I and RS-II models, braneworld inflation, the Goldberger-Wise mechanism, mirage cosmology, the radion-induced phase transition in RS-I, possible gravity wave signals, and the DGP model.

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arXiv2007

p-adic Inflation

We construct approximate inflationary solutions rolling away from the unstable maximum of p-adic string theory, a nonlocal theory with derivatives of all orders. Novel features include the existence of slow-roll solutions even when the slow-roll parameters, as usually defined, are much greater than unity, as well as the need for the Hubble parameter to exceed the string mass scale m_s. We show that the theory can be compatible with CMB observations if g_s / \sqrt{p} ~ 10^{-7}, where g_s is the string coupling, and if m_s < 10^{-6} M_p. A red-tilted spectrum is predicted, and the scalar-to-tensor ratio is bounded from above as r < 0.006. The p-adic theory is shown to have identical inflationary predictions to a local theory with superPlanckian parameter values, but with the advantage that the p-adic theory is ultraviolet complete.

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arXiv2007

Nongaussianity from Tachyonic Preheating in Hybrid Inflation

In a previous work we showed that large nongaussianities and nonscale-invariant distortions in the CMB power spectrum can be generated in hybrid inflation models, due to the contributions of the tachyon (waterfall) field to the second order curvature perturbation. Here we clarify, correct, and extend those results. We show that large nongaussianity occurs only when the tachyon remains light throughout inflation, whereas n=4 contamination to the spectrum is the dominant effect when the tachyon is heavy. We find constraints on the parameters of warped-throat brane-antibrane inflation from nongaussianity. For F-term and D-term inflation models from supergravity, we obtain nontrivial constraints from the spectral distortion effect. We also establish that our analysis applies to complex tachyon fields.

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arXiv2007

Order rho^2 Corrections to Randall-Sundrum I Cosmology

We derive the corrections to the Friedmann equation of order rho^2 in the Randall-Sundrum (RS) model, where two 3-branes bound a slice of five-dimensional Anti-deSitter space. The effects of radion stabilization by the Goldberger-Wise mechanism are taken into account. Surprisingly, we find that an inflaton on either brane will experience no order rho^2 corrections in the Hubble rate H due to its own energy density, although an observer on the opposite brane does see such a correction. Thus there is no enhancement of the slow-roll condition unless inflation is simultaneously driven by inflatons on both branes. Similarly, during radiation domination, the rho^2 correction to H on a given brane vanish unless there is nonvanishing energy density on the opposite brane. During the electroweak phase transition the correction can be large, but is has the wrong sign for causing sphalerons to go out of thermal equilibrium, so it cannot help electroweak baryogenesis. We discuss the differences between our results and exact solutions in RS-II cosmology.

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arXiv2006

Baryogenesis

Pedagogical lectures on baryogenesis, with emphasis on the electroweak phase transition and electroweak baryogenesis. Contents: (1) Observational evidence for the BAU; (2) Sakharov's conditions for baryogenesis; (3) Example: GUT baryogenesis; (4) B and CP violation in the standard model; (5) Electroweak phase transition and electroweak baryogenesis; (6) A model of electroweak baryogenesis: the two Higgs doublet model; (7) EWBG in the MSSM; (8) Leptogenesis

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arXiv2006

Uplifting and Inflation with D3 Branes

Back-reaction effects can modify the dynamics of mobile D3 branes moving within type IIB vacua, in a way which has recently become calculable. We identify some of the ways these effects can alter inflationary scenarios, with the following three results: (1) By examining how the forces on the brane due to moduli-stabilizing interactions modify the angular motion of D3 branes moving in Klebanov-Strassler type throats, we show how previous slow-roll analyses can remain unchanged for some brane trajectories, while being modified for other trajectories. These forces cause the D3 brane to sink to the bottom of the throat except in a narrow region close to the D7 brane, and do not ameliorate the η-problem of slow roll inflation in these throats; (2) We argue that a recently-proposed back-reaction on the dilaton field can be used to provide an alternative way of uplifting these compactifications to Minkowski or De Sitter vacua, without the need for a supersymmetry-breaking anti-D3 brane; and (3) by including also the D-term forces which arise when supersymmetry-breaking fluxes are included on D7 branes we identify the 4D supergravity interactions which capture the dynamics of D3 motion in D3/D7 inflationary scenarios. The form of these potentials sheds some light on recent discussions of how symmetries constrain D term interactions in the low-energy theory.

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arXiv2006

Inflationary Potential Reconstruction for a WMAP Running Power Spectrum

The first year WMAP measurement of the CMB temperature anisotropy is intriguingly consistent with a larger running of the inflationary scalar spectral index than would be expected for single-field inflation. We revisit the issue of a large running spectral index, first by reexamining the evidence from the data, and then by reconstructing the inflationary potential, using an improved method based upon the Hamilton-Jacobi formulation. We note that a spectrum which runs only over 1.5 decades of k space provides as good a fit to the CMB data as one which runs at all k, that significant evidence for running comes from multipoles l near 40, and that large running gives a better fit than a flat spectrum primarily if the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ is large, r ~ 0.5, and the field values are at the Planck scale. This allows one to break the large degeneracy of potentials which would be consistent with the scalar power alone. Large running, should it be confirmed, is thus linked to a high scale of inflation and the possibility of seeing effects of tensor modes in the CMB and Planck-scale physics. Nevertheless, we show that the reconstructed inflaton potential is well-described by a renormalizable potential whose quantum corrections are under control despite the large field values.

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arXiv2006

Nongaussian and nonscale-invariant perturbations from tachyonic preheating in hybrid inflation

We show that in hybrid inflation it is possible to generate large second-order perturbations in the cosmic microwave background due to the instability of the tachyonic field during preheating. We carefully calculate this effect from the tachyon contribution to the gauge-invariant curvature perturbation, clarifying some confusion in the literature concerning nonlocal terms in the tachyon curvature perturbation; we show explicitly that such terms are absent. We quantitatively compute the nongaussianity generated by the tachyon field during the preheating phase and translate the experimental constraints on the nonlinearity parameter f_{NL} into constraints on the parameters of the model. We also show that nonscale-invariant second-order perturbations from the tachyon field can become larger than the inflaton-generated first-order perturbations, leading to stronger constraints than those coming from nongaussianity. The width of the excluded region in terms of the logarithm of the dimensionless coupling g, grows linearly with the log of the ratio of the Planck mass to the tachyon VEV, \log(M_p/v); hence very large regions are ruled out if the inflationary scale v is small. We apply these results to string-theoretic brane-antibrane inflation, and find a stringent upper bound on the string coupling, g_s < 10^{-4.5}.

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