Inflation and dark energy from f(R) gravity

TL;DR

This paper extends the Starobinsky inflation model using an $f(R)$ gravity framework to generate a scalar potential with residual vacuum energy, potentially explaining dark energy while remaining consistent with observational data.

Contribution

It introduces a modified $f(R)$ gravity model that produces a stable scalar potential with residual vacuum energy, linking inflation to dark energy.

Findings

The model yields a stable minimum with non-zero residual vacuum energy.

Results are compatible with PLANCK and BICEP2 observational data.

The extended model provides a unified approach to inflation and dark energy.

Abstract

The standard Starobinsky inflation has been extended to the $R + \alpha R^n - \beta R^{2-n}$ model to obtain a stable minimum of the Einstein frame scalar potential of the auxiliary field. As a result we have obtained obtain a scalar potential with non-zero value of residual vacuum energy, which may be a source of Dark Energy. Our results can be easily consistent with PLANCK or BICEP2 data for appropriate choices of the value of $n$.