Primordial Perturbations from Multifield Inflation with Nonminimal Couplings

TL;DR

This paper develops a gauge-invariant framework to analyze primordial perturbations in multifield inflation models with nonminimal couplings, revealing two sources of entropy perturbations that can influence observable inflationary spectra.

Contribution

It introduces a formalism for calculating perturbations in models with multiple nonminimally coupled fields, highlighting the impact of entropy perturbations on inflationary predictions.

Findings

Identifies two sources of entropy perturbations: field interactions and nonminimal couplings.

Shows entropy perturbations can amplify curvature perturbations outside the Hubble radius.

Highlights potential issues with models overproducing entropy perturbations, affecting observational consistency.

Abstract

Realistic models of particle physics include many scalar fields. These fields generically have nonminimal couplings to the Ricci curvature scalar, either as part of a generalized Einstein theory or as necessary counterterms for renormalization in curved background spacetimes. We develop a gauge-invariant formalism for calculating primordial perturbations in models with multiple nonminimally coupled fields. We work in the Jordan frame (in which the nonminimal couplings remain explicit) and identify two distinct sources of entropy perturbations for such models. One set of entropy perturbations arises from interactions among the multiple fields. The second set arises from the presence of nonminimal couplings. Neither of these varieties of entropy perturbations will necessarily be suppressed in the long-wavelength limit, and hence they can amplify the curvature perturbation, $\zeta$, even for modes that have crossed outside the Hubble radius. Models that overproduce long-wavelength entropy perturbations endanger the close fit between predicted inflationary spectra and empirical observations.