Flows into inflation: An effective field theory approach
We analyze the flow into inflation for generic “single-clock” systems, by combining an effective field theory approach with a dynamical-systems analysis. In this approach, we construct an expansion for the potential-like term in the effective action as a function of time, rather than specifying a pa...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Physical Society
2018
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/117764 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5054-6744 |
| _version_ | 1826188658964692992 |
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| author | Azhar, Feraz Kaiser, David I |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Azhar, Feraz Kaiser, David I |
| author_sort | Azhar, Feraz |
| collection | MIT |
| description | We analyze the flow into inflation for generic “single-clock” systems, by combining an effective field theory approach with a dynamical-systems analysis. In this approach, we construct an expansion for the potential-like term in the effective action as a function of time, rather than specifying a particular functional dependence on a scalar field. We may then identify fixed points in the effective phase space for such systems, order by order, as various constraints are placed on the Mth time derivative of the potential-like function. For relatively simple systems, we find significant probability for the background spacetime to flow into an inflationary state and for inflation to persist for at least 60 e-folds. Moreover, for systems that are compatible with single-scalar-field realizations, we find a single, universal functional form for the effective potential, V(ϕ), which is similar to the well-studied potential for power-law inflation. We discuss the compatibility of such dynamical systems with observational constraints. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:03:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/117764 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:03:02Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | American Physical Society |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1177642022-09-30T07:07:49Z Flows into inflation: An effective field theory approach Azhar, Feraz Kaiser, David I Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Kaiser, David I We analyze the flow into inflation for generic “single-clock” systems, by combining an effective field theory approach with a dynamical-systems analysis. In this approach, we construct an expansion for the potential-like term in the effective action as a function of time, rather than specifying a particular functional dependence on a scalar field. We may then identify fixed points in the effective phase space for such systems, order by order, as various constraints are placed on the Mth time derivative of the potential-like function. For relatively simple systems, we find significant probability for the background spacetime to flow into an inflationary state and for inflation to persist for at least 60 e-folds. Moreover, for systems that are compatible with single-scalar-field realizations, we find a single, universal functional form for the effective potential, V(ϕ), which is similar to the well-studied potential for power-law inflation. We discuss the compatibility of such dynamical systems with observational constraints. United States. Department of Energy (Grant DE-SC0012567) 2018-09-14T18:26:32Z 2018-09-14T18:26:32Z 2018-09 2018-07 2018-09-13T18:00:11Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 2470-0010 2470-0029 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/117764 Azhar, Feraz and David I. Kaiser. "Flows into inflation: An effective field theory approach." Physical Review D 98, 6 (September 2018): 063515 © 2018 American Physical Society https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5054-6744 en http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.98.063515 Physical Review D Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. American Physical Society application/pdf American Physical Society American Physical Society |
| spellingShingle | Azhar, Feraz Kaiser, David I Flows into inflation: An effective field theory approach |
| title | Flows into inflation: An effective field theory approach |
| title_full | Flows into inflation: An effective field theory approach |
| title_fullStr | Flows into inflation: An effective field theory approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Flows into inflation: An effective field theory approach |
| title_short | Flows into inflation: An effective field theory approach |
| title_sort | flows into inflation an effective field theory approach |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/117764 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5054-6744 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT azharferaz flowsintoinflationaneffectivefieldtheoryapproach AT kaiserdavidi flowsintoinflationaneffectivefieldtheoryapproach |