A Toy Model For Single Field Open Inflation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a simple polynomial scalar potential model for single-field open inflation post-tunneling, demonstrating how CDL tunneling-induced friction enables small-field inflation despite overshoot issues.

Contribution

It provides a new, analytically tractable polynomial potential model for studying single-field open inflation after CDL tunneling.

Findings

Numerical results confirm the viability of small-field open inflation in the model.

Analytic approximations closely match numerical simulations.

The model addresses the overshoot problem in open inflation scenarios.

Abstract

Inflation in an open universe produced by Coleman-De Luccia (CDL) tunneling induces a friction term that is strong enough to allow for successful small-field inflation in models that would otherwise suffer from a severe overshoot problem. In this paper, we present a polynomial scalar potential which allows for a full analysis. This provides a simple model of single-field open inflation on a small-field inflection point after tunneling. We present numerical results and compare them with analytic approximations.