2015/11/30 by Marco Drewes · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #COSMIC cancer database #Cosmic background radiation #Cosmic microwave background #Cosmology #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Inflation (cosmology) #Inflaton #Observable #Thermal #astro-ph.CO #hep-ph #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2016/03/013
published as JCAP03(2016)013 · some typos corrected and discussion extended
arxiv created 2016/02/16 · openalex publication_date 2016/03/08 · arxiv updated 2016/03/09 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
In inflationary cosmology, cosmic reheating after inflation sets the initial conditions for the hot big bang. We investigate how CMB data can be used to study the effective potential and couplings of the inflaton during reheating to constrain the underlying microphysics. If there is a phase of preheating that is driven by a parametric resonance or other instability, then the thermal history and expansion history during the reheating era depend on a large number of microphysical parameters in a complicated way. In this case the connection between CMB observables and microphysical parameters can only established with intense numerical studies. Such studies can help to improve CMB constraints on the effective inflaton potential in specific models, but parameter degeneracies usually make it impossible to extract meaningful best-fit values for individual microphysical parameters. If, on the other hand, reheating is driven by perturbative processes, then it can be possible to constrain the inflaton couplings and the reheating temperature from CMB data. This provides an indirect probe of fundamental microphysical parameters that most likely can never be measured directly in the laboratory, but have an immense impact on the evolution of the cosmos by setting the stage for the hot big bang.