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Reheating constraints to inflationary models

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Evidence from the BICEP2 experiment for a significant gravitational-wave background has focussed attention on inflaton potentials $V(\phi) \propto \phi^\alpha$ with $\alpha=2$ ("chaotic" or "$m^2\phi^2$" inflation) or with smaller values of $\alpha$, as may arise in axion-monodromy models. Here we show that reheating considerations may provide additional constraints to these models. The reheating phase preceding the radiation era is modeled by an effective equation-of-state parameter $w_{\rm re}$. The canonical reheating scenario is then described by $w_{\rm re}=0$. The simplest $\alpha=2$ models are consistent with $w_{\rm re} = 0$ for values of $n_s$ well within the current $1\sigma$ range. Models with $\alpha=1$ or $\alpha=2/3$ require a more exotic reheating phase, with $-1/3<w_{\rm re}<0$, unless $n_s$ falls above the current $1\sigma$ range. Likewise, models with $\alpha=4$ require a physically implausible $w_{\rm re}>1/3$, unless $n_s$ is close to the lower limit of the $2\sigma$ range. For $m^2\phi^2$ inflation and canonical reheating as a benchmark, we derive a relation $\log_{10}\left(T_{\rm re}/10^6\,{\rm GeV} \right) \simeq 2000\,(n_s-0.96)$ between the reheat temperature $T_{\rm re}$ and the scalar spectral index $n_s$. Thus, if $n_s$ is close to its central value, then $T_{\rm re}\lesssim 10^6$~GeV, just above the electroweak scale. If the reheat temperature is higher, as many theorists may prefer, then the scalar spectral index should be closer to $n_s\simeq0.965$ (at the pivot scale $k=0.05\,{\rm Mpc}^{-1}$), near the upper limit of the $1\sigma$ error range. Improved precision in the measurement of $n_s$ should allow $m^2\phi^2$, axion-monodromy, and $\phi^4$ models to be distinguished, even without precise measurement of $r$, and to test the $m^2\phi^2$ expectation of $n_s\simeq0.965$.

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Dilaton-Flattened Axion Inflation

hep-ph · 2026-04-16 · unverdicted · novelty 7.0

Dilaton backreaction on an anomaly-inspired axion potential generates a closed-form Lambert-W flattened hilltop, giving r ≈ 0.033–0.036 and α_s ≈ −4.6×10^{-4} at N=56 with strictly adiabatic dynamics.

Equation of state during (p)reheating with trilinear interactions

astro-ph.CO · 2025-07-17 · unverdicted · novelty 5.0

Lattice simulations show that the post-inflationary equation of state with trilinear interactions returns to zero after an initial deviation, substantially lowering stochastic gravitational wave amplitudes relative to prior estimates.

Inflation from a Weyl-flat null origin

hep-ph · 2026-04-19 · unverdicted · novelty 5.0

Single-field inflation with ε(N) approaching a constant in (0,1) at early times forms an asymptotic universality class with a Weyl-flat null origin while producing ns and r values compatible with Planck data.

Einstein or Jordan: seeking answers from the reheating constraints

gr-qc · 2019-07-24 · unverdicted · novelty 4.0

Differences in inflationary energy scales between Einstein and Jordan frames produce distinct reheating e-folding numbers and temperatures, leading to contrasting thermal histories with potential observational signatures.

Lectures on Reheating after Inflation

astro-ph.CO · 2019-07-09 · unverdicted · novelty 0.0

Lecture notes providing a generic introduction to reheating after inflation, covering its theoretical, phenomenological, and observational aspects.

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