Work

Warm Inflation with the Standard Model

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: We show for the first time that warm inflation is feasible with standard model (SM) gauge interactions alone. Our model consists of a minimal extension of the SM by a single scalar inflaton field with an axionlike coupling to gluons and a monomial potential. The effects of light fermions, which were previously argued to render warm inflation with the SM impossible, are alleviated by Hubble dilution of their chiral chemical potentials. Our model features only one adjustable combination of parameters and accommodates all inflationary observables. We briefly discuss implications for axion experiments, dark matter, and the strong CP problem.

Source: Physical Review Letters

DOI: 10.1103/9nn9-bsm9

Authors: Kim V. Berghaus, Marco Drewes, Sebastian Zell

Institutions: California Institute of Technology, Technical University of Munich, UCLouvain, Max Planck Institute for Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Language: English

Topic: Cosmology and Gravitation Theories

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,750