Dynamics of the Inflationary Flow Equations

Abstract

We present a dynamical analysis of the inflationary flow equations. Our technique uses the Hubble `jerk' parameter as a discriminant of stability of fixed points. The results of the analysis are used to explain qualitatively the distribution of various observable parameters (e.g. the tensor-scalar ratio, r, and scalar spectral index, n_s) seen in numerical solutions of the flow equations using stochastic initial conditions. Finally, we give a physical interpretation of the flow in phase-space in terms of slow-roll motion of the inflaton.

9 pages 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review D

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• The Observational Status of Cosmic Inflation after Planck
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• Relic gravitational waves and their detection
• Implications of a Running Spectral Index for Slow Roll Inflation
• MCMC analysis of WMAP3 and SDSS data points to broken symmetry inflaton potentials and provides a lower bound on the tensor to scalar ratio
• Primordial Non-Gaussianity and Gravitational Waves: Observational Tests of Brane Inflation in String Theory
• Accuracy of slow-roll formulae for inflationary perturbations: implications for primordial black hole formation
• The Effective Theory of Inflation in the Standard Model of the Universe and the CMB+LSS data analysis
• Narrowing Constraints with Type Ia Supernovae: Converging on a Cosmological Constant
• Limits on primordial power spectrum resolution: An inflationary flow analysis
• Constraining Inflation
• Horizon-Flow off-track for Inflation
• Shortcomings of New Parametrizations of Inflation
• Approach to exact inflation in modified Friedmann equation
• Running primordial perturbations: Inflationary Dynamics and Observational Constraints
• Hubble multi-scalar inflation
• New Solutions of the Inflationary Flow Equations
• Non-Gaussian signatures of general inflationary trajectories
• Flows into inflation: An effective field theory approach
• Plateau Inflation from Random Non-Minimal Coupling
• Inflation model building with an accurate measure of e-folding
• Planck and WMAP constraints on generalised Hubble flow inflationary trajectories
• Primordial Gravitational Waves and Reheating in a New Class of Plateau-like Inflationary Potentials
• From WMAP to Planck: Exact reconstruction of 4- and 5-dimensional inflationary potential from high precision CMB measurements