PIRSA:09010019 Scientific Series Quantum Fields and Strings

DOI10.48660/09010019

Series: Cosmology and Gravitation

McAllister, L. (2009). Linear Inflation from Axion Monodromy. Perimeter Institute. https://pirsa.org/09010019

McAllister, Liam. Linear Inflation from Axion Monodromy. Perimeter Institute, Jan. 20, 2009, https://pirsa.org/09010019 

@misc{ pirsa_PIRSA:09010019,
  doi = {10.48660/09010019},
  url = {https://pirsa.org/09010019},
  author = {McAllister, Liam},
  keywords = {Quantum Fields and Strings},
  language = {en},
  title = {Linear Inflation from Axion Monodromy},
  publisher = {Perimeter Institute},
  year = {2009},
  month = {jan},
  note = {PIRSA:09010019 see, \url{https://pirsa.org}}
}

Abstract

Inflationary scenarios with detectable primordial tensor perturbations typically require symmetries that can protect the potential over a super-Planckian field excursion. An old and natural idea is for the inflaton to be an axion protected by a shift symmetry. However, this has appeared difficult to realize in string theory because axion periodicities are sub-Planckian in known examples. I will explain how in compactifications containing wrapped fivebranes, the effective axion range is increased by monodromy: a single axion period can be traversed many times. The resulting potential is approximately linear and can source technically natural large-field inflation. As a result of the all-orders axionic shift symmetry, the potential receives negligible corrections from moduli stabilization.

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