Inflation in $f(R,T)$ Gravity

Abstract

The article presents modeling of inflationary scenarios for the first time in the $f(R,T)$ theory of gravity. We assume the $f(R,T)$ functional from to be $R+\eta T$, where $R$ denotes the Ricci scalar, $T$ the trace of the energy-momentum tensor and $\eta$ the model parameter (constant). We first investigated an inflationary scenario where the inflation is driven purely due to geometric effects outside of GR. We found the inflation observables to be independent of the number of e-foldings in this setup. The computed value of the spectral index is consistent with latest Planck 2018 dataset while the scalar to tensor ratio is a bit higher. We then proceeded to analyze the behavior of an inflation driven by $f(R,T)$ gravity coupled with a real scalar field. By taking the slow-roll approximation, we generated interesting scenarios where a Klein Gordon potential leads to observationally consistent inflation observables. Our results makes it clear-cut that in addition to the Ricci scalar and scalar fields, the trace of energy momentum tensor also play a major role in driving inflationary scenarios.

EPJ Plus accepted version

References in corpus (16)

• f(R,T) gravity
• The Standard Model Higgs boson as the inflaton
• Modelling wormholes in $f(R,T)$ gravity
• Dark Matter From f(R,T) Gravity
• Cosmological solutions from Induced Matter Model applied to 5D f(R,T) gravity and the shrinking of the extra coordinate
• Non-exotic matter wormholes in a trace of the energy-momentum tensor squared gravity
• Wormholes in $R^2$-gravity within the $f(R,T)$ formalism
• Stellar equilibrium configurations of white dwarfs in the $f(R,T)$ gravity
• $f(R)$ Gravity Inflation with String-Corrected Axion Dark Matter
• Quintessential inflation with canonical and noncanonical scalar fields and Planck 2015 results
• A class of quintessential inflation models with parameter space consistent with BICEP2
• Propagation of Polar Gravitational Waves in f(R,T) Scenario
• Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and Entropy Evolution in $f(R,T)$ Gravity
• Logamediate Inflation in f(T) Teleparallel Gravity
• Temporally Varying Universal Gravitational "Constant" and Speed of Light in Energy Momentum Squared Gravity
• Redshift Drift in $f(R,T)$ Gravity

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Stability criterion for white dwarfs in Palatini $f(R)$ gravity
• Moment of inertia of slowly rotating anisotropic neutron stars in $f(R,T)$ gravity
• Anisotropic Universe in $f(Q,T)$ gravity, a novel study
• Swampland dS conjecture in Mimetic $f(R,T)$ gravity
• Reheating and particle creation in unimodular f(R, T) gravity
• Cosmic Acceleration and Geodesic Deviation in Chameleon Scalar Field Model
• On Inflationary Models in f(R,T) Gravity with a Kinetic Coupling Term
• Cosmological Solutions of Chameleon Scalar Field Model