Reconstructing inflationary paradigm within Effective Field Theory framework

TL;DR

This paper develops a model-independent framework within Effective Field Theory to analyze and reconstruct inflationary potentials, constraining field excursions and differentiating models using recent observational data.

Contribution

It derives a general expression for inflaton field excursion, reconstructs inflationary potential structures, and introduces higher order consistency relations to distinguish inflation models.

Findings

Reconstructed inflationary potential from observational data.

Derived higher order consistency relationships for model differentiation.

Validated methodology with specific inflationary models against Planck and BICEP2/Keck data.

Abstract

In this paper my prime objective is to analyze the constraints on a sub-Planckian excursion of a single inflaton field within Effective Field Theory framework in a model independent fashion. For a generic single field inflationary potential, using the various parameterization of the primordial power spectrum I have derived the most general expression for the field excursion in terms of various inflationary observables, applying the observational constraints obtained from recent Planck 2015 and Planck 2015 +BICEP2/Keck Array data. By explicit computation I have reconstructed the structural form of the inflationary potential by constraining the Taylor expansion coefficients appearing in the generic expansion of the potential within the Effective Field Theory. Next I have explicitly derived, a set of higher order inflationary consistency relationships, which would help us to break the degeneracy between various class of inflationary models by differentiating them. I also provided two simple examples of Effective Theory of inflation- inflection-point model and saddle-point model to check the compatibility of the prescribed methodology in the light of Planck 2015 and Planck 2015 +BICEP2/Keck Array data. Finally, I have also checked the validity of the prescription by estimating the cosmological parameters and fitting the theoretical CMB TT, TE and EE angular power spectra with the observed data within the multipole range $2<l<2500$.