Inflationary Models with Gauss-Bonnet Coupling in Light of ACT Observations

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Zhu, Yigan, Gao, Qing, Gong, Yungui, Yi, Zhu
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Zhu, Yigan
Gao, Qing
Gong, Yungui
Yi, Zhu
author_facet Zhu, Yigan
Gao, Qing
Gong, Yungui
Yi, Zhu
contents Recent analyses combining Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) data with other cosmological datasets report a higher scalar spectral index $n_s$, creating tension with a wide range of inflationary models. Since a Gauss-Bonnet term with a coupling function $ξ(ϕ) = 3λ/[4V(ϕ)]$ leaves $n_s$ nearly unchanged (up to a field rescaling) while reducing the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ by a factor $(1-λ)$, so choosing $(1-λ)$ sufficiently small effectively removes $r$ as a limiting observable, making it easier for inflationary models to satisfy the latest observational constraints and alleviating this tension. Applying this mechanism to chaotic inflation, E-models, T-models, and hilltop inflation, we find that broad regions of parameter space become consistent with the latest ACT-based CMB constraints. These results demonstrate that Gauss-Bonnet couplings can help bring a broad class of inflationary models into agreement with current CMB measurements.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_09707
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Inflationary Models with Gauss-Bonnet Coupling in Light of ACT Observations
Zhu, Yigan
Gao, Qing
Gong, Yungui
Yi, Zhu
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Recent analyses combining Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) data with other cosmological datasets report a higher scalar spectral index $n_s$, creating tension with a wide range of inflationary models. Since a Gauss-Bonnet term with a coupling function $ξ(ϕ) = 3λ/[4V(ϕ)]$ leaves $n_s$ nearly unchanged (up to a field rescaling) while reducing the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ by a factor $(1-λ)$, so choosing $(1-λ)$ sufficiently small effectively removes $r$ as a limiting observable, making it easier for inflationary models to satisfy the latest observational constraints and alleviating this tension. Applying this mechanism to chaotic inflation, E-models, T-models, and hilltop inflation, we find that broad regions of parameter space become consistent with the latest ACT-based CMB constraints. These results demonstrate that Gauss-Bonnet couplings can help bring a broad class of inflationary models into agreement with current CMB measurements.
title Inflationary Models with Gauss-Bonnet Coupling in Light of ACT Observations
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.09707