We provide a detailed study of gravitational reheating in quintessential inflation generalizing previous analyses only available for the standard case when inflation is followed by an era dominated by the energy density of radiation. Quintessential inflation assumes a common origin for inflation and the dark energy of the Universe. In this scenario reheating can occur through gravitational particle production during the inflation-kination transition. We calculate numerically the amount of the radiation energy density, and determine the temperature $T_*$ at which radiation starts dominating over kination. The value of $T_*$ is controlled by the Hubble parameter $H_0$ during inflation and the transition time $Δt$, scaling as $H_0^2 [\ln(1/H_0Δt)]^{3/4}$ for $H_0 Δt \ll1$ and $H_0^2 (H_0 Δt)^{-c}$ for $H_0Δt \gg 1$. The model-dependent parameter $c$ is found to be around 0.5 in two different parametrizations for the transition between inflation and kination.
Recently a new kind of quintessential inflation coming from the Lorentzian distribution has been introduced in [1,2]. The model leads to a very simple potential, which basically depends on two parameters, belonging to the class of $α$-attractors and depicting correctly the early and late time accelerations of our universe. The potential emphasizes a {\it cosmological seesaw mechanism} (CSSM) that produces a large inflationary vacuum energy in one side of the potential and a very small value of dark energy on the right hand side of the potential. {Here we show that the model agrees with the rec…
We introduce warm quintessential inflation and study it in the weak dissipative regime. We consider the original quintessential inflation model, which approximates quartic chaotic inflation at early times and thawing quartic inverse-power-law quintessence at present. We find that the model successfully accounts for both inflation and dark energy observations, while it naturally reheats the Universe, thereby overcoming a major problem of quintessential inflation model-building.
We investigate a compelling model of quintessential inflation in the context of $α$-attractors, which naturally result in a scalar potential featuring two flat regions, the inflationary plateau and the quintessential tail. The "asymptotic freedom" of $α$-attractors, near the kinetic poles, suppresses radiative corrections and interactions, which would otherwise threaten to lift the flatness of the quintessential tail and cause a 5th-force problem respectively. Since this is a non-oscillatory inflation model, we reheat the Universe through instant preheating. The parameter space is constrained …
Incorporating three generations of right-handed Majorana neutrinos to quintessential inflation, we construct a model which simultaneously explains inflation, dark energy, dark matter and baryogenesis. These neutrinos have hierarchical masses $M_3 \sim 10^{13}$GeV, $M_2 \sim 10^{11}$GeV, $M_1 \sim 10$keV and are produced by gravitational particle production in the kination regime after inflation. The heaviest, the intermediate, and the lightest account for reheating, CP violation of leptogenesis, and dark matter, respectively. This model can be tested in various ways with forthcoming observatio…
We study a model of quintessential inflation in the context of Palatini gravity. As a representative example, we consider the Peebles-Vilenkin model of quintessential inflation with a small non-minimal coupling to gravity, which is consistent with the most recent Planck measurements. At the end of inflation, the inflaton field passes through a tachyonic region and it leads to explosive particle production through the tachyonic preheating process. After preheating, the Universe becomes dominated by the kinetic energy of the inflaton and enters a period of kination. Eventually, the total energy …
Quintessential inflation refers to an attempt to unify inflation and late-time cosmic acceleration using a single scalar field. In this letter we consider two different classes of quintessential inflation, one of which is based upon a Lagrangian with non-canonical kinetic term $k^2(ϕ)\partial^μϕ\partial_μϕ$ and a steep exponential potential while the second class uses the concept of steep brane world inflation. We show that in both cases the Lyth bound can be evaded, despite the large tensor-to-scalar ratio of perturbations. The post-inflationary dynamics is consistent with nucleosynthesis con…
We study a model of quintessential inflation constructed in $R^2$ modified gravity with a non-minimally coupled scalar field, in the Palatini formalism. Our non-minimal inflaton field is characterised by a simple exponential potential. We find that successful quintessential inflation can be achieved with no fine-tuning on the model parameters. Predictions on the characteristics of dark energy will be tested by observations in the near future, while contrast with existing observations provides insights on the modified gravity background, such as the value of the non-minimal coupling and its run…
We study in detail a new model of quintessential inflation where the inflaton field is coupled to the Gauss-Bonnet term. This coupling ensures that the variation of the field is kept sub-Planckian, which avoids the 5th force problem as well as the lifting of the flatness of the quintessential tail in the runaway scalar potential due to radiative corrections. We find that the inflationary predictions of the model are in excellent agreement with CMB observations, while the coincidence requirement of dark energy is satisfied with natural values of the parameters, overcoming thereby the extreme fi…
We investigate in detail a family of quintessential inflation models in the context of $R+R^2$ Palatini modified gravity. We find that successful inflation and quintessence are obtained with an inflaton scalar potential that is approximately quadratic in inflation and inverse quartic in quintessence. We show that corrections for the kination period due to Palatini modified gravity are subdominant, while the setup does not challenge constraints on modified gravity from solar system observations and microscopic experiments, in contrast to the metric case. We obtain concrete predictions regarding…
We study a new model of quintessential inflation which is inspired by supergravity and string theory. The model features a kinetic pole, which gives rise to the inflationary plateau, and a runaway quintessential tail. We envisage a coupling between the inflaton and the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) field which terminates the roll of the runaway inflaton and traps the latter at an enhanced symmetry point (ESP), thereby breaking the PQ symmetry. The kinetic density of the inflaton is transferred to the newly created thermal bath of the hot big bang due to the decay of PQ particles. The model successfully ac…
With the help of the tachyonic trapping mechanism one can potentially solve a number of problems affecting quintessential inflation models. In this mechanism we introduce a trapping field with a spontaneous symmetry breaking potential. When the quintessential inflaton passes the critical point, a sudden burst of particle production is able to reheat the Universe and trap the inflaton away from theminimum of its potential. However, self-interactions of the trapping field suppress particle production and reduce the efficiency of this process. We develop a method to compute the magnitude of the s…
By making use of a class of steep exponential type of potentials, which has been recently used to describe quintessential inflation, we show how a unified picture for both inflation, dark energy and dark matter can emerge entirely through dissipative effects. Dissipation provides a way for extending the applicability of a larger class of these potentials in the sense of leading to a consistent early Universe inflationary picture and producing observables in agreement with the Planck legacy data. Likewise, dissipative effects lead to dark matter production with consistent abundances and, toward…
A novel approach to quintessential inflation model building is studied, within the framework of $α$-attractors, motivated by supergravity theories. Inflationary observables are in excellent agreement with the latest CMB observations, while quintessence explains the dark energy observations without any fine-tuning. The model is kept intentionally minimal, avoiding the introduction of many degrees of freedom, couplings and mass scales. In stark contrast to $Λ$CDM, for natural values of the parameters, the model attains transient accelerated expansion, which avoids the future horizon problem, whi…
In the inflationary framework of cosmology the initial phase of rapid expansion has to be followed by a reheating stage, which is envisioned to end in a radiation dominated big bang. Key parameters that characterize this big bang state are the temperature at the end of the reheating stage and the baryon asymmetry. For general interacting theories these parameters are difficult to obtain analytically because of the involved structure of the potential. In this paper multifield reheating is considered for interacting theories in which the inflaton trajectory is weakly curved. This scenario is rea…
We construct a model of quintessential inflation in Palatini $R^2$ gravity employing a scalar field with a simple exponential potential and coupled to gravity with a running non-minimal coupling. At early times, the field acts as the inflaton, while later on it becomes the current dark energy. Combining the scalar sector with an ideal fluid, we study the cosmological evolution of the model from inflation all the way to dark energy domination. We interpret the results in the Einstein frame, where a coupling emerges between the fluid and the field, feeding energy from the former to the latter du…
We study the sensitivity of cosmological observables to the reheating phase following inflation driven by many scalar fields. We describe a method which allows semi-analytic treatment of the impact of perturbative reheating on cosmological perturbations using the sudden decay approximation. Focusing on $\mathcal{N}$-quadratic inflation, we show how the scalar spectral index and tensor-to-scalar ratio are affected by the rates at which the scalar fields decay into radiation. We find that for certain choices of decay rates, reheating following multiple-field inflation can have a significant impa…
Tachyon inflation is one of the most attractive models of noncannonical inflation motivated by string theory. In this work we revisit the constraints on tachyon inflation with inverse $\cosh$ potential and exponential potential considering reheating, Although the phase of reheating is not well understood, it can be parameterized in terms of reheating temperature $T_{re}$, number of e-folds during reheating $N_{re}$ and effective equation of state during reheating $w_{re}$, which can be related to the parameters of the tachyon potential, spectral index $n_s$ and tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$. For …
Quintessential inflation utilises a single scalar field to account for the observations of both cosmic inflation and dark energy. The requirements for modelling quintessential inflation are described and two explicit successful models are presented in the context of $α$-attractors and Palatini modified gravity.
We extend our previous study of supersymmetric Higgs inflation in the context of no-scale supergravity and grand unification, to include models based on the flipped SU(5) and the Pati-Salam group. Like the previous SU(5) GUT model, these yield a class of inflation models whose inflation predictions interpolate between those of the quadratic chaotic inflation and Starobinsky-like inflation, while avoiding tension with proton decay limits. We further analyse the reheating process in these models, and derive the number of e-folds, which is independent of the reheating temperature. We derive the c…
Single-field models of $α$-attractor quintessential inflation provide a unified picture of the two periods of early- and late-time cosmic acceleration, where both inflation and dark energy are described by a single scalar degree of freedom rolling down a runaway potential. These theoretically well-motivated models have distinct observational predictions that are in agreement with existing cosmological data. We show that the next generation of large-scale structure surveys, even when no other cosmological data sets are considered, will strongly constrain the parameter space of these models, and…
We revisit the inflection point inflation with an extended discussion to large field values and consider the reheating effects on the inflationary predictions. Parametrizing the reheating dynamics in terms of the reheating temperature and the equation of state during inflation, we show how the observationally favored parameter space of inflection point inflation is affected by reheating dynamics. Consequently, we apply the general results to the inflation models with non-minimal coupling, such as the SM Higgs inflation and the $B-L$ Higgs inflation.
In this paper, we consider a scenario of spontaneous baryogenesis in a framework of warm quintessential inflation where the residual inflaton field, left out after warm inflation, plays the role of quintessence field at late times and is coupled to a non-conserved baryonic current. Assuming a four fermion $(B-L)$ violating effective interaction, we have demonstrated that the required baryon asymmetry can be produced successfully in this case. We show that the post-inflationary evolution, with the underlying scalar field potential, $V(ϕ)=V^4_0 \exp{(-αϕ^n/M_{\rm Pl}^4 ) }$, $n>1$ well suited to…
The combination of non-minimal couplings to gravity with the post-inflationary kinetic-dominated era typically appearing in quintessential inflation scenarios may lead to the spontaneous symmetry breaking of internal symmetries and its eventual restoration at the onset of radiation domination. On general grounds, the breaking of these symmetries leads to the generation of short-lived topological defects that tend to produce gravitational waves until the symmetry is restored. We study here the background of gravitational waves generated by a global cosmic string network following the dynamical …
We explore the possibility of baryogenesis in the framework of quintessential inflation. We focus on the model independent features of the underlying paradigm and demonstrate that the required baryon asymmetry can successfully be generated in this scenario. To this effect, we use the effective field theory framework with desired terms in the Lagrangian necessary to mimic baryon number violation \textit{à la} spontaneous baryogenesis which can successfully evade Sakharov's requirement allowing us to generate the observed baryon asymmetry in the equilibrium process. Our estimates are independent…
Quasi-pole quintessential inflation in metric-affine gravity
Consortium for Fundamental Physics, School of Physics and Astronomy, Lancaster University（兰开斯特大学物理与天文学院基础物理学联盟）；National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics（国家化学物理和生物物理研究所）；Tallinn University of Technology（塔尔图理工大学）
We study the production of dark matter and dark radiation after reheating in string inflation models where the Calabi-Yau has a fibred structure and the visible sector lives on D3 branes. We show how the interplay between different physical constraints from inflation, reheating, supersymmetry breaking and dark radiation, leads to distinct predictions for the nature of dark matter.
We consider the framework of quintessential inflation in the warm background which is caused by the dissipation of the scalar field energy density into relativistic degrees of freedom. The dissipation process has important consequences for the evolution both at the levels of background as well as perturbation and allows us to easily satisfy the observational constraints.~Our numerical analysis confirms that the model conforms to observational constraints even if the field-radiation coupling strength is weak. In the warm background, we investigate the post inflationary evolution of relic gravit…
Inflation has long been the accepted paradigm for understanding the early universe. Most models of inflation have a scalar field acting as the inflaton particle which decays after inflation during a process called reheating into standard model (SM) particles. In this work, we consider a fermion as the inflaton field. Noether symmetry arguments show that an exponentially expanding universe is possible with a fermion if it is coupled non-minimally to gravity. We use such a scenario in this model to study both inflation and reheating. We find relations between the various parameters involved in t…
We study reheating in some one and two field realizations of {\it Fibre Inflation}. We find that reheating begins with a phase of preheating in which long wavelength fluctuation modes are excited. In two field models there is a danger that the parametric amplification of infrared fluctuations in the second scalar field - associated with an entropy mode - might induce an instability of the curvature fluctuations. We show that, at least in the models we consider, the entropy mode has a sufficiently large mass to prevent this instability. Hence, from the point of view of reheating the models we c…
We study particle production at the end of inflation in kinetically driven G-inflation model and show that, in spite of the fact that there are no inflaton oscillations and hence no parametric resonance instabilities, the production of matter particles due to a coupling to the evolving inflaton field can be more efficient than pure gravitational Parker particle production.
We propose the pure natural quintessential inflation model which is motivated by Witten's conjecture, where the axion couples to pure Yang-Mills $SU(N)$ gauge field at large N limit. This modifies the standard cosine potential which is presented in the natural inflation, making it compatible with current CMB data. Our model gives a successful inflation as well as acceleration at the late times by quintessence inflaton field($ϕ$). Here the inflaton field is responsible for inflation, after that the field enters into peculiar type of reheating and then they act as dynamical dark energy field whi…
We study the post-inflationary dynamics for reheating and freeze-in dark matter in the Higgs-$R^2$ inflation model. Taking the perturbative approach for reheating, we determine the evolution of the temperature for radiation bath produced during reheating and determine the maximum and reheating temperatures of the Universe. Adopting a singlet scalar dark matter with a conformal non-minimal coupling and a vanishing Higgs-portal coupling, we discuss the freeze-in production of dark matter both from the non-thermal scattering during reheating and the thermal scattering after reheating. We find tha…
We note some close parallels between preheating/perturbative reheating, (p)reheating, models in post-inflationary cosmology and the dynamical Casimir effect (DCE) in quantum optics. For the plasma-mirror model we show how the effective plasma mass (arising from conduction electrons) behaves like an oscillating inflaton field, while created photons behave like a scalar field coupled quadratically to the inflaton. Furthermore, the effect of spacetime expansion can also be incorporated by varying the dielectric function. We propose an experiment that could mimic (p)reheating for both narrow and b…
We investigate the feasibility of models of inflation with a large Gauss-Bonnet coupling at late times, which have been shown to modify and prevent the end of inflation. Despite the potential of Gauss-Bonnet models in predicting favourable power spectra, capable of greatly lowering the tensor-to-scalar-ratio compared to now-disfavoured models of standard chaotic inflation, it is important to also understand in what context it is possible for post-inflationary (p)reheating to proceed and hence recover an acceptable late-time cosmology. We argue that in the previously-studied inverse power law c…
