Topological inflation in supergravity

Abstract

We investigate a topological inflation model in supergravity. By means of numerical simulations, it is confirmed that topological inflation can take place in supergravity. We also show that the condition for successful inflation depends not only on the vacuum-expectation value (VEV) of inflaton field but also on the form of its K\"ahler potential. In fact, it is found that the required VEV of the inflaton $\ensuremath{\varphi}$ can be as small as $〈\ensuremath{\varphi}〉\ensuremath{\simeq}1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{M}_{G},$ where ${M}_{G}$ is the gravitational scale.