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  • 1475-7516_2014_09_027

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Sub-Planckian two-field inflation consistent with the Lyth bound

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
Article number027
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>09/2014
<mark>Journal</mark>Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Issue number9
Volume2014
Number of pages9
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

The BICEP2 observation of a large tensor-to-scalar ratio, r = 0.20(-0.05)(+0.07), implies that the inflaton phi in single-field inflation models must satisfy phi similar to 10 M-Pl in order to produce sufficient inflation. This is a problem if interaction terms suppressed by the Planck scale impose a bound phi less than or similar to M-Pl. Here we consider whether it is possible to have successful sub-Planckian inflation in the case of two-field inflation. The trajectory in field space cannot be radial if the effective single-field inflaton is to satisfy the Lyth bound. By considering a complex field Phi, we show that a near circular but aperiodic modulation of a vertical bar Phi vertical bar(4) potential can reproduce the results of phi(2) chaotic inflation for n(s) and r while satisfying vertical bar Phi vertical bar less than or similar to 0.01 M-Pl throughout. More generally, for models based on a vertical bar Phi vertical bar(4) potential, the simplest sub-Planckian models are equivalent to phi(2) and phi(4/3) chaotic inflation.

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Article funded by SCOAP3. Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.