Ultraviolet Completion of the Big Bang in Quadratic Gravity

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Liu, Ruolin, Quintin, Jerome, Afshordi, Niayesh
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Liu, Ruolin
Quintin, Jerome
Afshordi, Niayesh
author_facet Liu, Ruolin
Quintin, Jerome
Afshordi, Niayesh
contents We present a quantum quadratic gravity inflationary scenario that can accommodate the new cosmological constraints, which have disfavored Starobinsky inflation. The theory is asymptotically free in the ultraviolet, but 1-loop running is found to dynamically lead to slow-roll inflation toward the infrared. When a large number of matter fields contribute to the beta functions, the spectral index and the tensor-to-scalar ratio can be phenomenologically viable. We find that as inflation ends, the theory approaches its strong coupling regime and general relativity must emerge, as an effective field theory, as the universe must reheat and enter its standard radiation era. In order to avoid strong coupling, a minimum tensor-to-scalar ratio of 0.01 is predicted for this theory. Our framework offers a laboratory for connecting a concrete ultraviolet completion (quantum quadratic gravity) with inflationary dynamics, reheating, and precise cosmological observations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_18733
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Ultraviolet Completion of the Big Bang in Quadratic Gravity
Liu, Ruolin
Quintin, Jerome
Afshordi, Niayesh
High Energy Physics - Theory
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
We present a quantum quadratic gravity inflationary scenario that can accommodate the new cosmological constraints, which have disfavored Starobinsky inflation. The theory is asymptotically free in the ultraviolet, but 1-loop running is found to dynamically lead to slow-roll inflation toward the infrared. When a large number of matter fields contribute to the beta functions, the spectral index and the tensor-to-scalar ratio can be phenomenologically viable. We find that as inflation ends, the theory approaches its strong coupling regime and general relativity must emerge, as an effective field theory, as the universe must reheat and enter its standard radiation era. In order to avoid strong coupling, a minimum tensor-to-scalar ratio of 0.01 is predicted for this theory. Our framework offers a laboratory for connecting a concrete ultraviolet completion (quantum quadratic gravity) with inflationary dynamics, reheating, and precise cosmological observations.
title Ultraviolet Completion of the Big Bang in Quadratic Gravity
topic High Energy Physics - Theory
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.18733