Non-Gaussianities and chiral gravitational waves in natural steep inflation

TL;DR

This paper explores how a natural steep inflation model with axion-like couplings generates detectable non-Gaussianities and chiral gravitational waves, with implications for upcoming CMB experiments and constraints on inflationary parameters.

Contribution

It analyzes non-Gaussianities and tensor modes in a steep inflation model with gauge field interactions, highlighting potential detectability and new parameter constraints.

Findings

Non-Gaussianities are compatible with current observations.

Tensor modes could be detectable by future CMB experiments.

Tensor modes may be chiral, leading to parity-violating signals.

Abstract

In arXiv:0908.4089, we have proposed a model where natural inflation is realized on a steep potential as a consequence of the interaction of the inflaton with gauge fields through an axion-like coupling. In the present work we study the nongaussianities and the spectrum of tensor modes generated in this scenario. The nongaussianities turn out to be compatible with current observations and can be large enough to be detectable by Planck. The non-observation of tensor modes imposes new constraints on the parameter space of the system that are about one order of magnitude stronger than those found in our previous work. More importantly, in certain regions of the parameter space tensor modes might be detected by upcoming Cosmic Microwave Background experiments even if inflation occurs at energies as low as the TeV scale. In this case the tensor modes would be chiral, and would lead to distinctive parity-violating correlation functions in the CMB.