UV completion of the Starobinsky model, tensor-to-scalar ratio, and constraints on nonlocality

Edholm, James (2017) UV completion of the Starobinsky model, tensor-to-scalar ratio, and constraints on nonlocality. Physical Review D, 95 (4): 044004. ISSN 1550-7998

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Abstract

In this paper, we build upon the successes of the ultraviolet (UV) completion of the Starobinsky model of inflation. This involves an extension of the Einstein-Hilbert term by an infinite covariant derivative theory of gravity which is quadratic in curvature. It has been shown that such a theory can potentially resolve the cosmological singularity for a flat, homogeneous and isotropic geometry, and now it can also provide a successful cosmological inflation model, which in the infrared regime matches all the predictions of the Starobinsky model of inflation. The aim of this paper is to show that the tensor-to-scalar ratio is modified by the scale of nonlocality, and in general a wider range of tensor-to-scalar ratios can be obtained in this class of model, which can put a lower bound on the scale of nonlocality for the first time as large as the O(10^14) GeV.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Physical Review D
Additional Information:
© 2017 American Physical Society
ID Code:
84590
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
15 Feb 2017 13:26
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
20 Dec 2023 01:16