Single-field α-attractors

Andrei Linde

doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2015/05/003

Abstract

I describe a simple class of α-attractors, generalizing the single-field GL model of inflation in supergravity. The new class of models is defined for 0<α ≲ 1, providing a good match to the present cosmological data. I also present a generalized version of these models which can describe not only inflation but also dark energy and supersymmetry breaking.

Highlights

First models of inflation in supergravity were based on the new inflationary scenario, assuming high temperature phase transitions with symmetry restoration
These models did not quite work, and in 1983 the new inflation scenario was dethroned by chaotic inflation [1]
The main idea of chaotic inflation was to consider various sufficiently flat potentials, either large-field or small-field, and check whether inflation may occur in some parts of the universe without assuming that it was in a state of thermal equilibrium and that initial state of the inflaton field should correspond to an extremum of the potential

Summary

Introduction

First models of inflation in supergravity were based on the new inflationary scenario, assuming high temperature phase transitions with symmetry restoration. I describe a simple class of α-attractors, generalizing the single-field GL model of inflation in supergravity. Predictions of some of these models are stable with respect to even large changes of their potentials; such models are called cosmological attractors [8,9,10,11,12,13,14].

Results

Conclusion