Advances in Inflation in String Theory

TL;DR

This paper reviews inflation in string theory, emphasizing its sensitivity to Planck-scale physics, and discusses two case studies—warped D-brane inflation and axion monodromy inflation—highlighting potential observational tests.

Contribution

It provides a pedagogical overview of inflation in string theory with detailed analysis of two specific scenarios and discusses how future data can test these models.

Findings

Inflation in string theory is highly sensitive to Planck-scale physics.

Warped D-brane inflation and axion monodromy inflation are key case studies.

Future observations can potentially distinguish between different string inflation models.

Abstract

We provide a pedagogical overview of inflation in string theory. Our theme is the sensitivity of inflation to Planck-scale physics, which we argue provides both the primary motivation and the central theoretical challenge for the subject. We illustrate these issues through two case studies of inflationary scenarios in string theory: warped D-brane inflation and axion monodromy inflation. Finally, we indicate how future observations can test scenarios of inflation in string theory.