Formation and Decay of Oscillons in Einstein-Cartan Higgs Inflation

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Author: Rubio, Javier
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Rubio, Javier
author_facet Rubio, Javier
contents We review recent progress in the understanding of the preheating stage of Higgs inflation formulated within the Einstein-Cartan framework of gravity. This setup smoothly interpolates between the metric and Palatini formulations of the theory, leading to a distinctive phenomenology in an intermediate regime. Following the end of inflation, the Higgs field undergoes a non-trivial out-of-equilibrium evolution driven by tachyonic instabilities and nonlinear self-interactions, which fragment the inflaton condensate and give rise to well-localized oscillon configurations. While early studies suggested the formation of long-lived oscillons and the possibility of an extended matter-dominated phase, more recent analyses show that self-interactions at small field values render these objects transient, eventually triggering their decay and the onset of radiation domination. We discuss the implications of this dynamics for the thermal history of the Universe, the inflationary observables, and the generation of stochastic gravitational waves.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_19178
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Formation and Decay of Oscillons in Einstein-Cartan Higgs Inflation
Rubio, Javier
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
We review recent progress in the understanding of the preheating stage of Higgs inflation formulated within the Einstein-Cartan framework of gravity. This setup smoothly interpolates between the metric and Palatini formulations of the theory, leading to a distinctive phenomenology in an intermediate regime. Following the end of inflation, the Higgs field undergoes a non-trivial out-of-equilibrium evolution driven by tachyonic instabilities and nonlinear self-interactions, which fragment the inflaton condensate and give rise to well-localized oscillon configurations. While early studies suggested the formation of long-lived oscillons and the possibility of an extended matter-dominated phase, more recent analyses show that self-interactions at small field values render these objects transient, eventually triggering their decay and the onset of radiation domination. We discuss the implications of this dynamics for the thermal history of the Universe, the inflationary observables, and the generation of stochastic gravitational waves.
title Formation and Decay of Oscillons in Einstein-Cartan Higgs Inflation
topic High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.19178