Echoes of R3 modification and Goldstone preheating in the CMB-BAO landscape
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The R 2 and the single-field-like regime of R 2 -Higgs inflation are disfavored by the observed high spectral index n s from the combined cosmic microwave background (CMB) and baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements at the ∼ 2 σ level. The addition of a dimension-six R 3 term in the action helps alleviate this tension. We show that the parameter space accounting for the observed high n s also induces rapid Goldstone and Higgs preheating. The preheating, especially from Goldstone modes, helps match the CMB and inflationary scales, which in turn supports the observed n s .
Source: Physics Letters B
Author: Tanmoy Modak
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7147076882