Electroweak-scale inflation, inflaton-Higgs mixing and the scalar spectral index

Abstract

We construct a phenomenological model of electroweak-scale inflation that is in accordance with recent cosmic microwave background observations by WMAP, while setting the stage for a zero-temperature electroweak transition as assumed in recent models of baryogenesis. We find that the scalar spectral index especially poses tight constraints for low-scale inflation models. The inflaton-Higgs coupling leads to substantial mixing of the scalar degrees of freedom. Two types of scalar particles emerge with decay widths similar to that of the Standard Model Higgs particle.

21 pages, 4 figures. v2: Two references added, matches version to be published in JCAP

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• Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (in "The Review of Particle Properties" 2004)
• First Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Implications for Inflation
• How long before the end of inflation were observable perturbations produced?
• Symmetry Breaking and False Vacuum Decay after Hybrid Inflation
• Constraining slow-roll inflation with WMAP and 2dF
• A Horizon Ratio Bound for Inflationary Fluctuations
• Chern-Simons production during preheating in hybrid inflation models
• WMAPping inflationary physics
• W and Higgs particle distributions during electroweak tachyonic preheating
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Cited by in corpus (29)

• A Gravitational Wave Background from Reheating after Hybrid Inflation
• Gauge-preheating and the end of axion inflation
• Gravitational Waves from Abelian Gauge Fields and Cosmic Strings at Preheating
• Nongaussian and nonscale-invariant perturbations from tachyonic preheating in hybrid inflation
• Tachyonic preheating using 2PI-1/N dynamics and the classical approximation
• Baryogenesis from Strong CP Violation and the QCD Axion
• Natural Cold Baryogenesis from Strongly Interacting Electroweak Symmetry Breaking
• On the Transverse-Traceless Projection in Lattice Simulations of Gravitational Wave Production
• Gauge Field Preheating at the End of Inflation
• Simulations of Cold Electroweak Baryogenesis: Finite time quenches
• Chern-Simons and Winding Number in a Tachyonic Electroweak Transition
• Reviving quark nuggets as a candidate for dark matter
• Cold electroweak baryogenesis with Standard Model CP violation
• Simulations of Cold Electroweak Baryogenesis: Dependence on Higgs mass and strength of CP-violation
• Baryon Inhomogeneity Generation in the Quark-Gluon Plasma Phase
• Low Scale Higgs Inflation with Gauss-Bonnet Coupling
• Effective CP violation in the Standard Model
• Computing the temperature dependence of effective CP violation in the standard model
• On using Cold Baryogenesis to constrain the Two-Higgs Doublet Model
• Fast Electroweak Symmetry Breaking and Cold Electroweak Baryogenesis
• Origin of the Chemical Elements
• Standard Model CP-violation and Cold Electroweak Baryogenesis
• Simulations of Cold Electroweak Baryogenesis: Hypercharge U(1) and the creation of helical magnetic fields
• Simulations of Cold Electroweak Baryogenesis: Quench from portal coupling to new singlet field
• Simulations of Cold Electroweak Baryogenesis: Finding the optimal quench time
• Simulations of Cold Electroweak Baryogenesis
• Simulations of Cold Electroweak Baryogenesis: Dependence on the source of CP-violation
• Review of the Microscopic Approach to the Higgs Mechanism and to Quark and Lepton Masses and Mixings
• Bounce inflation driven by Higgs field