Scalar metric perturbations after inflation break conformal invariance and induce quantum production of gravitons, generating a GW spectrum that peaks near GHz frequencies for standard primordial scalar power spectra.
Gauge Field Production in Axion Inflation: Consequences for Monodromy, non-Gaussianity in the CMB, and Gravitational Waves at Interferometers
5 Pith papers cite this work. Polarity classification is still indexing.
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abstract
Models of inflation based on axions, which owe their popularity to the robustness against UV corrections, have also a very distinct class of signatures. The relevant interactions of the axion are a non-perturbative oscillating contribution to the potential and a shift-symmetric coupling to gauge fields. We review how these couplings affect the cosmological perturbations via a unified study based on the in-in formalism. We then note that, when the inflaton coupling to gauge fields is high enough to lead to interesting observational results, the backreaction of the produced gauge quanta on the inflaton dynamics becomes relevant during the final stage of inflation, and prolongs its duration by about 10 e-foldings. We extend existing results on gravity wave production in these models to account for this late inflationary phase. The strong backreaction phase results in an enhancement of the gravity wave signal at the interferometer scales. As a consequence, the signal is potentially observable at Advanced LIGO/VIRGO for the most natural duration of inflation in such models. Finally, we explicitly compute the axion couplings to gauge fields in string theory construction of axion monodromy inflation and identify cases where they can trigger interesting phenomenological effects.
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One-loop integration of a heavy fermion with inflaton-dependent mass in axion inflation generates localized gauge-field production and a detectable chiral gravitational-wave signal in the deci-hertz range.
PBHs generated by axion inflation with gauge-field coupling can comprise all dark matter in the asteroidal mass range while producing a LISA-measurable stochastic GW background.
Including spectral running α_s, β_s and self-interacting dark radiation relaxes the ACT DR6 bound on ΔN_eff to <0.58 and lowers the Hubble tension to 2.2σ with three extra parameters.
Modular spontaneous CP breaking during inflation with the modulus as inflaton produces one-loop cosmological collider signals from SM fermions enhanced by chemical potentials, allowing probes of sub-Planckian modulus decay constants.
citing papers explorer
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Quantum production of gravitational waves after inflation
Scalar metric perturbations after inflation break conformal invariance and induce quantum production of gravitons, generating a GW spectrum that peaks near GHz frequencies for standard primordial scalar power spectra.
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Axion Inflation from Heavy-Fermion One-Loop Effects
One-loop integration of a heavy fermion with inflaton-dependent mass in axion inflation generates localized gauge-field production and a detectable chiral gravitational-wave signal in the deci-hertz range.
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Primordial black hole dark matter from axion inflation
PBHs generated by axion inflation with gauge-field coupling can comprise all dark matter in the asteroidal mass range while producing a LISA-measurable stochastic GW background.
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The End of the First Act: Spectral Running, Interacting Dark Radiation, and the Hubble Tension in Light of ACT DR6 Data
Including spectral running α_s, β_s and self-interacting dark radiation relaxes the ACT DR6 bound on ΔN_eff to <0.58 and lowers the Hubble tension to 2.2σ with three extra parameters.
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Cosmological collider signals of modular spontaneous CP breaking
Modular spontaneous CP breaking during inflation with the modulus as inflaton produces one-loop cosmological collider signals from SM fermions enhanced by chemical potentials, allowing probes of sub-Planckian modulus decay constants.