A complete analysis of inflation with piecewise quadratic potential

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Wang, Xinpeng, Ma, Xiao-Han, Sasaki, Misao
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Wang, Xinpeng
Ma, Xiao-Han
Sasaki, Misao
author_facet Wang, Xinpeng
Ma, Xiao-Han
Sasaki, Misao
contents We conduct a thorough study of the comoving curvature perturbation $\mathcal{R}$ in single-field inflation with two stages, represented by a piecewise quadratic potential, where both the first and second derivatives are allowed to be discontinuous at the transition point. We calculate the evolution of $\mathcal{R}$ by combining the perturbative and non-perturbative methods consistently, and obtain the power spectrum and the non-Gaussian features in the probability distribution function. We find that both the spectrum and the statistics of $\mathcal{R}$ depend significantly on the second derivatives of the potential at both the first and second stages. Furthermore, we find a new parameter constructed from the potential parameters, which we call $α$, plays a decisive role in determining various features in the spectrum such as the amplitude, the slope, and the existence of a dip. In particular, we recover the typical $k^4$ growth of the spectrum in most cases, but the maximum growth rate of $k^5(\log k)^2$ can be obtained by fine-tuning the parameters. Then, using the $δN$ formalism valid on superhorizon scales, we give fully nonlinear formulas for $\cal{R}$ in terms of the scalar field perturbation $δϕ$ and its time derivative. In passing, we point out the importance of the nonlinear evolution of $δϕ$ on superhorizon scales. Finally, using the Press-Schechter formalism for simplicity, we discuss the effect of the non-Gaussian tails of the probability distribution function on the primordial black hole formation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_16463
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A complete analysis of inflation with piecewise quadratic potential
Wang, Xinpeng
Ma, Xiao-Han
Sasaki, Misao
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
We conduct a thorough study of the comoving curvature perturbation $\mathcal{R}$ in single-field inflation with two stages, represented by a piecewise quadratic potential, where both the first and second derivatives are allowed to be discontinuous at the transition point. We calculate the evolution of $\mathcal{R}$ by combining the perturbative and non-perturbative methods consistently, and obtain the power spectrum and the non-Gaussian features in the probability distribution function. We find that both the spectrum and the statistics of $\mathcal{R}$ depend significantly on the second derivatives of the potential at both the first and second stages. Furthermore, we find a new parameter constructed from the potential parameters, which we call $α$, plays a decisive role in determining various features in the spectrum such as the amplitude, the slope, and the existence of a dip. In particular, we recover the typical $k^4$ growth of the spectrum in most cases, but the maximum growth rate of $k^5(\log k)^2$ can be obtained by fine-tuning the parameters. Then, using the $δN$ formalism valid on superhorizon scales, we give fully nonlinear formulas for $\cal{R}$ in terms of the scalar field perturbation $δϕ$ and its time derivative. In passing, we point out the importance of the nonlinear evolution of $δϕ$ on superhorizon scales. Finally, using the Press-Schechter formalism for simplicity, we discuss the effect of the non-Gaussian tails of the probability distribution function on the primordial black hole formation.
title A complete analysis of inflation with piecewise quadratic potential
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.16463