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DOE OSTI2014

Inflationary magnetogenesis without the strong coupling problem II: constraints from CMB anisotropies and B-modes

Recent observational claims of magnetic fields stronger than 10{sup −16} G in the extragalactic medium motivate a new look for their origin in the inflationary magnetogenesis models. In this work we shall review the constraints on the simplest gauge invariant model f{sup 2}(φ)F{sub μν}F{sup μν} of inflationary magnetogenesis, and show that in the optimal region of parameter space the anisotropic constraints coming from the induced bispectrum, due to the generated electromagnetic fields, yield the strongest constraints. In this model, only a very fine tuned scenario at an energy scale of inflation as low as 10{sup −2} GeV can explain the observations of void magnetic fields. These findings are consistent with the recently derived upper bound on the inflationary energy scale. However, if the detection of primordial tensor modes by BICEP2 is confirmed, the possibility of low scale inflation is excluded. Assuming the validity of the BICEP2 claim of a tensor-to-scalar ratio r = 0.2{sup +0.07}{sub −0.05}, we provide the updated constraints on this model of inflationary magnetogenesis. On the Mpc scale, we find that the maximal allowed magnetic field strength from inflation is less than 10{sup −30} G.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Can CMB data constrain the inflationary field range?

We study to what extent the spectral index n{sub s} and the tensor-to-scalar ratio r determine the field excursion Δφ during inflation. We analyse the possible degeneracy of Δ φ by comparing three broad classes of inflationary models, with different dependence on the number of e-foldings N, to benchmark models of chaotic inflation with monomial potentials. The classes discussed cover a large set of inflationary single field models. We find that the field range is not uniquely determined for any value of (n{sub s}, r); one can have the same predictions as chaotic inflation and a very different Δ φ. Intriguingly, we find that the field range cannot exceed an upper bound that appears in different classes of models. Finally, Δ φ can even become sub-Planckian, but this requires to go beyond the single-field slow-roll paradigm.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2014

Higgs vacuum stability and inflationary dynamics after BICEP2 and PLANCK dust polarisation data

If the recent detection of B-mode polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background by BICEP2 observations, withstand the test of time after the release of recent PLANCK dust polarisation data, then it would surprisingly put the inflationary scale near Grand Unification scale if one considers single-field inflationary models. On the other hand, Large Hadron Collider has observed the elusive Higgs particle whose presently observed mass can lead to electroweak vacuum instability at high scale (∼ O(10{sup 10}) GeV). In this article, we seek for a simple particle physics model which can simultaneously keep the vacuum of the theory stable and yield high-scale inflation successfully. To serve our purpose, we extend the Standard Model of particle physics with a U(1){sub B-L} gauged symmetry which spontaneously breaks down just above the inflationary scale. Such a scenario provides a constrained parameter space where both the issues of vacuum stability and high-scale inflation can be successfully accommodated. The threshold effect on the Higgs quartic coupling due to the presence of the heavy inflaton field plays an important role in keeping the electroweak vacuum stable. Furthermore, this scenario is also capable of reheating the universe at the end of inflation. Though the issues of Dark Matter and Dark Energy, which dominate the late-time evolution of our universe, cannot be addressed within this framework, this model successfully describes the early universe dynamics according to the Big Bang model.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Constraint on the primordial gravitational waves from the joint analysis of BICEP2 and Planck HFI 353 GHz dust polarization data

We make a joint analysis of BICEP2 and recently released Planck HFI 353 GHz dust polarization data, and find that there is no evidence for the primordial gravitational waves and the bound on the tensor-to-scalar ratio becomes r < 0.083 at 95% confidence level in the base ΛCDM + tensor model. Extending to the model with running of scalar spectral index, the bound is a little bit relaxed to r < 0.116 at 95% confidence level. Our results imply that the inflation model with a single monomial potential is marginally disfavored at around 95% confidence level. Especially, the m{sup 2}φ{sup 2}/2 inflation model is disfavored at more than 2σ level. However, the Starobinsky inflation model gives a nice fit.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Revisiting a pre-inflationary radiation era and its effect on the CMB power spectrum

We revisit the scenario where inflation is preceded by a radiation era by considering that the inflaton too could have been in thermal equilibrium early in the radiation era. Hence we take into account not only the effect of a pre-inflationary era on the inflaton mode functions but also that of a frozen thermal distribution of inflaton quanta. We initially discuss in detail the issues relevant to our scenario of a pre-inflationary radiation dominated era and then obtain the scalar power spectrum for this scenario. We find that the power spectrum is free from infrared divergences. We then use the WMAP and Planck data to determine the constraints on the inflaton comoving 'temperature' and on the duration of inflation. We find that the best fit value of the duration of inflation is less than 1 e-folding more than what is required to solve cosmological problems, while only an upper bound on the inflaton temperature can be obtained.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

The tensor bi-spectrum in a matter bounce

Matter bounces are bouncing scenarios wherein the universe contracts as in a matter dominated phase at early times. Such scenarios are known to lead to a scale invariant spectrum of tensor perturbations, just as de Sitter inflation does. In this work, we examine if the tensor bi-spectrum can discriminate between the inflationary and the bouncing scenarios. Using the Maldacena formalism, we analytically evaluate the tensor bi-spectrum in a matter bounce for an arbitrary triangular configuration of the wavevectors. We show that, over scales of cosmological interest, the non-Gaussianity parameter h{sub NL} that characterizes the amplitude of the tensor bi-spectrum is quite small when compared to the corresponding values in de Sitter inflation. During inflation, the amplitude of the tensor perturbations freeze on super-Hubble scales, a behavior that results in the so-called consistency condition relating the tensor bi-spectrum and the power spectrum in the squeezed limit. In contrast, in the bouncing scenarios, the amplitude of the tensor perturbations grow strongly as one approaches the bounce, which suggests that the consistency condition will not be valid in such situations. We explicitly show that the consistency relation is indeed violated in the matter bounce. We discuss the implications of the results.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Sensitivity of inflationary predictions to pre-inflationary phases

How sensitive are the predictions of inflation to pre-inflationary conditions when the number of efolds of inflation is not too large? In an attempt to address this question, we consider a simple model where the inflationary era is preceded by an era dominated by a radiation fluid, which is coupled to the inflaton only gravitationally and which extends back to the Planck era. We show that there is a natural generalized Bunch-Davies vacuum state for perturbations to the coupled inflaton-gravity-fluid system at early times. With this choice of initial state the model predicts interesting deviations from the standard power spectrum of single field slow-roll inflation at large scales. However, the deviations are too small to be observable in near future CMB observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Quantum primordial standard clocks

In this paper, we point out and study a generic type of signals existing in the primordial universe models, which can be used to model-independently distinguish the inflation scenario from alternatives. These signals are generated by massive fields that function as standard clocks. The role of massive fields as standard clocks has been realized in previous works. Although the existence of such massive fields is generic, the previous realizations require sharp features to classically excite the oscillations of the massive clock fields. Here, we point out that the quantum fluctuations of massive fields can actually serve the same purpose as the standard clocks. We show that they are also able to directly record the defining property of the scenario type, namely, the scale factor of the primordial universe as a function of time a(t), but through shape-dependent oscillatory features in non-Gaussianities. Since quantum fluctuating massive fields exist in any realistic primordial universe models, these quantum primordial standard clock signals are present in any inflation models, and should exist quite generally in alternative-to-inflation scenarios as well. However, the amplitude of such signals is very model-dependent.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Non-slow-roll dynamics in α-attractors

In this paper we consider the α−attractor model and study inflation under a non-slow-roll dynamics. More precisely, we follow the approach recently proposed by Gong and Sasaki [1] by means of assuming N=N(φ). Within this framework we obtain a family of functions describing the local shape of the potential during inflation. We study a specific model and find an inflationary scenario predicting an attractor at n{sub s}≈0.967 and r≈5.5×10{sup −4}. We further show that considering a non-slow-roll dynamics, the α−attractor model can be broaden to a wider class of models that remain compatible with value of r<0.1. We further explore the model parameter space with respect to large and small field inflation and conclude that the inflaton dynamics is connected to the α− parameter, which is also related to the Kähler manifold curvature in the supergravity (SUGRA) embedding of this model. We also comment on the stabilization of the inflaton's trajectory.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

The IR obstruction to UV completion for Dante’s Inferno model with higher-dimensional gauge theory origin

We continue our investigation of large field inflation models obtained from higher-dimensional gauge theories, initiated in our previous study http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2015/02/031. We focus on Dante’s Inferno model which was the most preferred model in our previous analysis. We point out the relevance of the IR obstruction to UV completion, which constrains the form of the potential of the massive vector field, under the current observational upper bound on the tensor to scalar ratio. We also show that in simple examples of the potential arising from DBI action of a D5-brane and that of an NS5-brane that the inflation takes place in the field range which is within the convergence radius of the Taylor expansion. This is in contrast to the well known examples of axion monodromy inflation where inflaton takes place outside the convergence radius of the Taylor expansion. This difference arises from the very essence of Dante’s Inferno model that the effective inflaton potential is stretched in the inflaton field direction compared with the potential for the original field.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Conflation: a new type of accelerated expansion

In the framework of scalar-tensor theories of gravity, we construct a new kind of cosmological model that conflates inflation and ekpyrosis. During a phase of conflation, the universe undergoes accelerated expansion, but with crucial differences compared to ordinary inflation. In particular, the potential energy is negative, which is of interest for supergravity and string theory where both negative potentials and the required scalar-tensor couplings are rather natural. A distinguishing feature of the model is that, for a large parameter range, it does not significantly amplify adiabatic scalar and tensor fluctuations, and in particular does not lead to eternal inflation and the associated infinities. We also show how density fluctuations in accord with current observations may be generated by adding a second scalar field to the model. Conflation may be viewed as complementary to the recently proposed anamorphic universe of Ijjas and Steinhardt.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Fate of electroweak vacuum during preheating

Our electroweak vacuum may be metastable in light of the current experimental data of the Higgs/top quark mass. If this is really the case, high-scale inflation models require a stabilization mechanism of our vacuum during inflation. A possible candidate is the Higgs-inflaton/-curvature coupling because it induces an additional mass term to the Higgs during the slow roll regime. However, after inflation, the additional mass term oscillates, and it can destabilize our electroweak vacuum via production of large Higgs fluctuations during the inflaton oscillation era. In this paper, we study whether or not the Higgs-inflaton/-curvature coupling can save our vacuum by properly taking account of Higgs production during the preheating stage. We put upper bounds on the Higgs-inflaton and -curvature couplings, and discuss possible dynamics that might relax them.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Primordial black hole and wormhole formation by domain walls

In theories with a broken discrete symmetry, Hubble sized spherical domain walls may spontaneously nucleate during inflation. These objects are subsequently stretched by the inflationary expansion, resulting in a broad distribution of sizes. The fate of the walls after inflation depends on their radius. Walls smaller than a critical radius fall within the cosmological horizon early on and collapse due to their own tension, forming ordinary black holes. But if a wall is large enough, its repulsive gravitational field becomes dominant much before the wall can fall within the cosmological horizon. In this ''supercritical'' case, a wormhole throat develops, connecting the ambient exterior FRW universe with an interior baby universe, where the exponential growth of the wall radius takes place. The wormhole pinches off in a time-scale comparable to its light-crossing time, and black holes are formed at its two mouths. As discussed in previous work, the resulting black hole population has a wide distribution of masses and can have significant astrophysical effects. The mechanism of black hole formation has been previously studied for a dust-dominated universe. Here we investigate the case of a radiation-dominated universe, which is more relevant cosmologically, by using numerical simulations in order to find the initial mass of a black hole as a function of the wall size at the end of inflation. For large supercritical domain walls, this mass nearly saturates the upper bound according to which the black hole cannot be larger than the cosmological horizon. We also find that the subsequent accretion of radiation satisfies a scaling relation, resulting in a mass increase by about a factor of 2.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Classical cosmological collider physics and primordial features

Features in the inflationary landscape can inject extra energies to inflation models and produce on-shell particles with masses much larger than the Hubble scale of inflation. This possibility extends the energy reach of the program of cosmological collider physics, in which signals associated with these particles are generically Boltzmann-suppressed. Here we study the mechanisms of this classical cosmological collider in two categories of primordial features. In the first category, the primordial feature is classical oscillation, which includes the case of coherent oscillation of a massive field and the case of oscillatory features in the inflationary potential. The second category includes any sharp feature in the inflation model. All these classical features can excite unsuppressed quantum modes of other heavy fields which leave observational signatures in primordial non-Gaussianities, including the information about the particle spectra of these heavy degrees of freedom.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Post-inflationary enhancement of adiabatic perturbations in modular cosmology

We show that multi-field inflationary models with negligible turning in field space during inflation can lead to an effective sourcing of adiabatic from entropic perturbations afterthe end of inflation. We illustrate this general phenomenon with a detailed analysis of an inflationary model whose scalar potential is determined by modular invariance. Its entropic perturbations are frozen during inflation, but instead, they are converted into adiabatic perturbations in the first post-inflationary e-folds. The curvature power spectrum, giving rise to CMB fluctuations, reaches a novel and enhanced plateau in this process; we address the implications for the inflationary observables As , n s and r.

cosmological perturbation theory↗
DOE OSTI2024

Axion cogenesis without isocurvature perturbations

Axion rotations can simultaneously explain the dark matter abundance and the baryon asymmetry of the Universe by kinetic misalignment and axiogenesis. We consider a scenario in which the Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking field is as large as the Planck scale during inflation and the axion rotation is initiated by the inflaton-induced potential immediately after the end of inflation. This is a realization of the cogenesis scenario that is free of problems with domain walls and isocurvature perturbations thanks to large explicit Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking at the Planck scale during inflation. The baryon asymmetry can be more efficiently produced by leptoaxiogenesis, in which case the axion mass is predicted to be larger than O⁡(0.1) meV. We also discuss a UV complete model in supersymmetric theories.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Cosmic Signatures of Fundamental Physics (Final Technical Report)

Cosmology is the study of the history of the Universe. Major topics of current cosmology research include the nature of the dark energy which today is causing the Universe to accelerate, and the nature of cosmic inflation which is our best theory of the very early evolution of the Universe. Each of these topics can be explored with modern cosmological data, and rely on our theories of fundamental physics to operate. Research supported by this grant has led to advances in all these areas. We developed specific models of cosmic inflation and explored potential observations signatures. We explored observational constraints on the number of dimensions of space, which in certain modern theories can take in different values, and developed the specific “brane theories” of dark energy. The possibility that novel quantum effects (“quantum entanglement”) during cosmic inflation could lead to interesting observable phenomena was also explored.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Theoretical Constraints on Neutron-Mirror-Neutron Oscillation

Mirror models lead to the possibility that neutron (n) can oscillate into its mirror partner (n′), inspiring several experimental searches for this phenomenon. The condition for observability of this oscillation is a high degree of degeneracy between the n and n′ masses, which can be guaranteed if there is exact parity symmetry taking all particles to their mirror partners. However, consistency of these models with big-bang nucleosynthesis requires that this parity symmetry be broken in the early universe in a scenario called asymmetric inflation. In this paper, we study the consistency of an observable n−n′ oscillations signal with asymmetric inflation and derive various theoretical constraints. In particular, we find that the reheat temperature after inflation should lie below 2.5 TeV, and we predict a singlet fermion with a mass below 100 GeV. In simple models, where the right-handed neutrino is a mediator of baryon-number-violating interactions, we find that the light neutrinos are Dirac fermions with their masses arising radiatively through one-loop diagrams.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗