Inflation, Strings, CMB anisotropies and Leptogenesis

Abstract

In this talk, I shall focus on theories beyond the Standard Model which predict massive neutrinos. Hybrid inflation emerges naturally in these theories: the slow-rolling inflaton field is a gauge singlet which couples with a GUT Higgs field which triggers the end of inflation. In the standard scenario, spontaneous symmetry breaking takes place at the end of inflation at a scale $M$; $M_{GUT}>M>M_Z$ for inflation to solve the GUT monopole problem and cosmic strings always form at this intermediate scale. WMAP data constrain $M\in [10^{14.5}-10^{15.5}]$ GeV and the singlet-Higgs coupling $\kappa \in [10^{-7}-10^{-2}]$. The spectral index $n_s\gtrsim 0.98$ in slight conflict with WMAP3. When the symmetry which is broken at the end of inflation is gauged $B-L$, both the inflaton and the strings decay into right-handed neutrinos. There are then two competing non-thermal scenarios for baryogenesis via leptogenesis which take place at the end of inflation, during reheating and from cosmic strings decay. Which of the two scenarios dominates depends on the inflaton-neutrino sector parameters.

6 pages, plenary talk at the Rencontres de Moriond "Contents and Structures of the Universe", La Thuile, Italy, March 18-25, 2006

References in corpus (18)

• Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Three Year Results: Implications for Cosmology
• Cosmic strings
• Hybrid Inflation
• Large Scale Structure and Supersymmetric Inflation without Fine Tuning
• How generic is cosmic string formation in SUSY GUTs
• Gauge invariant MSSM inflaton
• Inflation and Monopoles in Supersymmetric SU(4)_c x SU(2)_L x SU(2)_R
• Smooth Hybrid Inflation
• Supersymmetric Hybrid Inflation with Non-Minimal Kahler potential
• Inflation in Supersymmetric Unified Theories
• B polarization of cosmic microwave background as a tracer of strings
• Large Angle CMB Fluctuations from Cosmic Strings with a Comological Constant
• N=2 Supersymmetry and de Sitter space
• MSSM inflation
• New mechanism for leptogenesis
• On vector mode contribution to CMB temperature and polarization from local strings
• Leptogenesis from reheating after inflation and cosmic string decay
• GUT cosmic strings and inflation

Cited by in corpus (2)

• Cosmic Strings as the Source of Small-Scale Microwave Background Anisotropy
• Cosmic strings in a space-time with positive cosmological constant