Low Scale Higgs Inflation with Gauss-Bonnet Coupling

TL;DR

This paper investigates a Higgs inflation model with Gauss-Bonnet coupling, deriving analytical solutions and comparing predictions with PLANCK data, suggesting inflation could occur near the electroweak scale.

Contribution

It introduces a novel Higgs inflation model with Gauss-Bonnet coupling, providing analytical solutions and analyzing its compatibility with observational data.

Findings

Inflation can occur at energy scales close to the electroweak scale.

The model's scalar and tensor spectra are consistent with PLANCK data.

Finite e-foldings are achievable with this coupling.

Abstract

Recent LHC data provides precise values of coupling constants of the Higgs field, however, these measurements do not determine its coupling with gravity. We explore this freedom to see whether Higgs field non-minimally coupled to Gauss-Bonnet term in 4-dimensions can lead to inflation generating the observed density fluctuations. We obtain analytical solution for this model and that the exit of inflation (with a finite number of e-folding) demands that the energy scale of inflation is close to Electro-weak scale. We compare the scalar and tensor power spectrum of our model with PLANCK data and discuss its implications.