Multi-field formulation of gravitational particle production after inflation

TL;DR

This paper investigates gravitational particle production after inflation in multi-field models with complex field-space metrics and non-minimal gravity couplings, analyzing decay rates and reheating dynamics in different frames.

Contribution

It provides a detailed calculation of gravitational decay rates in multi-field inflation models with non-trivial field-space metrics and compares reheating interpretations in Jordan and Einstein frames.

Findings

Decay rates for scalars and fermions calculated using Bogoliubov approach.

Reheating dynamics are consistent across Jordan and Einstein frames.

Frame independence of Bogoliubov coefficients demonstrated.

Abstract

We study multi-field inflation models that contain a non-trivial field-space metric and a non-minimal coupling between the gravity and inflaton sectors. In such models it is known that even in the absence of explicit interaction terms the inflaton sector can decay into matter as a result of its non-minimal coupling to gravity, thereby reheating the Universe gravitationally. Using the Bogoliubov approach we evaluate the gravitational decay rates of the inflaton fields into both scalars and fermions, and analyse the reheating dynamics. We also discuss how the interpretation of the reheating dynamics differs in the so-called Jordan and Einstein frames, highlighting that the calculation of the Bogoliubov coefficients is independent of the frame in which one starts.