Studying G-axion inflation model in light of PLANCK

Abstract

With the Planck 2015 result, most of the well known canonical large field inflation models turned out to be strongly disfavored. Axion inflation is one of such models which is becoming marginalized with the increasing precession of CMB data. In this paper, we have shown that with a simple Galileon type modification to the marginally favored axion model calling G-axion, we can turn them into one of the most favored models with its detectable prediction of r and ns within its PLANCK 1σ range for a wide range of parameters. Interestingly it is this modification which plays the important role in turning the inflationary predictions to be independent of the explicit value of axion decay constant f. However, dynamics after the inflation turned out to have a non-trivial dependence on f. For each G-axion model there exists a critical value of fc such that for f>fc we have the oscillating phase after inflation and for f<fc we have non-oscillatory phase. Therefore, we obtained a range of sub-Planckian value of model parameters which give rise to consistent inflation. However for sub-Planckian axion decay constant the inflaton field configuration appeared to be singular after the end of inflation. To reheat the universe we, therefore, employ the instant preheating mechanism at the instant of first zero crossing of the inflaton. To our surprise, the instant preheating mechanism turned out to be inefficient as opposed to usual non-oscillatory quintessence model. For another class of G-axion model with super-Planckian axion decay constant, we performed in detail the reheating constraints analysis considering the latest PLANCK result.