Abstract
Abdus Salam was a true master of 20th Century Theoretical Physics. Not only was he a pioneer of the Standard Model (for which he shared the Nobel Prize with S. Glashow and S. Weinberg), but he also (co)authored many other outstanding contributions to the field of Fundamental Interactions and their unification. In particular, he was a major contributor to the development of supersymmetric theories, where he also coined the word “Supersymmetry” (replacing the earlier “Supergauges” drawn from String Theory). He also introduced the basic concept of “Superspace” and the notion of “Goldstone Fermion” (Goldstino). These concepts proved instrumental for the exploration of the ultraviolet properties and for the study of spontaneously broken phases of super Yang–Mills theories and Supergravity. They continue to play a key role in current developments in Early-Universe Cosmology. In this contribution we review models of inflation based on Supergravity with spontaneously broken local supersymmetry, with emphasis on the role of nilpotent superfields to describe a de Sitter phase of our Universe.
Highlights
Supergravity 1 combines Supersymmetry with General Relativity (GR)
These concepts proved instrumental for the exploration of the ultraviolet properties and for the study of spontaneously broken phases of super YangMills theories and Supergravity. They continue to play a key role in current developments in Early-Universe Cosmology. In this contribution we review models of inflation based on Supergravity with spontaneously broken local supersymmetry, with emphasis on the role of nilpotent superfields to describe a de Sitter phase of our Universe
Nowadays it is well established that inflationary Cosmology is accurately described via the evolution of a single real scalar field, the inflaton, in a Friedmann, Lemaıtre, Robertson, Walker (FLRW) geometry 2
Summary
Supergravity 1 combines Supersymmetry with General Relativity (GR). This brings about scalar fields, some of which can play a natural role in the Early Universe. There is a cosmological model where inflaton and Higgs fields are identified: this is the Higgs inflation model of 5, which rests on a non-minimal coupling h2 R of the Higgs field h to gravity. Another well–known example rests on an R + R2 extension of General Relativity (GR). This is the Starobinsky model of inflation 6,7, which is conformally equivalent to GR coupled to a scalar field, the scalaron 8, with the special scalar potential. The spectral index of scalar perturbations (scalar tilt) and the tensor-to-scalar ratio turn out to be ns
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