Tuned MSSM Higgses as an inflaton

TL;DR

This paper explores the idea that the MSSM Higgs fields' vacuum energy could drive cosmic inflation, with a finely tuned potential enabling density perturbations and successful reheating without disrupting electroweak physics.

Contribution

It proposes a novel inflationary scenario where MSSM Higgs flat directions serve as the inflaton, linking particle physics with cosmological inflation.

Findings

Higgs flat directions can generate inflationary density perturbations.

Reheating occurs efficiently through Higgs oscillations after inflation.

The model maintains consistency with electroweak phase transition constraints.

Abstract

We consider the possibility that the vacuum energy density of the MSSM (Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model) flat direction condensate involving the Higgses H_1 and H_2 is responsible for inflation. We also discuss how the finely tuned Higgs potential at high vacuum expectation values can realize {\it cosmologically} flat direction along which it can generate the observed density perturbations, and after the end of inflation -- the coherent oscillations of the Higgses reheat the universe with all the observed degrees of freedom, without causing any problem for the electroweak phase transition.