Slow-walking inflation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a string cosmology model of slow-roll inflation using warped throat geometries with walking dynamics, leading to a viable inflationary scenario consistent with observations.

Contribution

It presents an analytical calculation of the brane potential in a new warped throat geometry with walking behavior, enabling a realistic inflation model within string theory.

Findings

Inflation lasts around sixty e-foldings.

The model's predictions align with current observational data.

The scenario is interpretable via the dual gauge theory properties.

Abstract

We propose a new model of slow-roll inflation in string cosmology, based on warped throat supergravity solutions displaying `walking' dynamics, i.e. the coupling constant of the dual gauge theory slowly varies over a range of energy scales. The features of the throat geometry are sourced by a rich field content, given by the dilaton and RR and NS fluxes. By considering the motion of a D3-brane probe in this geometry, we are able to analytically calculate the brane potential in a physically interesting regime. This potential has an inflection point: in its proximity we realize a model of inflation lasting sixty e-foldings, and whose robust predictions are in agreement with current observations. We are also able to interpret some of the most interesting aspects of this scenario in terms of the properties of the QFT dual theory.