Could the next generation of cosmology experiments exclude supergravity?

Abstract

Gravitinos are expected to be produced in any local supersymmetric model. Using their abundance prediction as a function of the reheating energy scale, we argue that the next generation of cosmic microwave background experiments could exclude supergravity or strongly favor ``thermal-like'' inflation models if B mode polarized radiation were detected. Galactic cosmic-ray production by evaporating primordial black holes is also investigated as a way of constraining the Hubble mass at the end of inflation. Subsequent limits on the gravitino mass and on the related grand unification parameters are derived.