Higgs inflation: Constraining the top quark mass and breaking the H0-σ8 correlation

Abstract

Extending previous results, we explore aspects of the reheating mechanism for non-minimal Higgs inflation in the strong coupling regime. We constrain the radiative corrections for the inflaton's potential by considering the Coleman-Weinberg approximation and use the Renormalization Group Equations for the Higgs field to derive an upper limit on the top quark mass. Using the current Cosmic Microwave Background, Baryon Acoustic Oscillation, and Supernovae data, we obtain mt≤170.44 GeV, confirming the observational compatibility of the model with recent mt estimates reported by the CMS collaboration. We also analyze the breakdown of the well-known correlation involving the Hubble constant H0 and the clustering parameter σ8, which makes the model interesting in light of the cosmological tensions discussed over the last decade.