Combined Preheating on the lattice with applications to Higgs inflation

TL;DR

This study uses 3+1D lattice simulations to analyze particle production and decay during Higgs inflation preheating, revealing delays in resonance onset and the significant role of fermions in inflaton destruction.

Contribution

It extends analytical estimates of preheating beyond linear regimes using lattice simulations in a Higgs inflation context, highlighting decay effects and fermion roles.

Findings

Fast decays delay parametric resonance onset

Fermions significantly contribute to inflaton destruction

Simulations reveal limitations of analytical techniques

Abstract

We use classical lattice simulations in 3+1 dimensions to study the interplay between the resonant production of particles during preheating and the subsequent decay of these into a set of secondary species. We choose to work in a simplified version of Higgs inflation in which the Higgs field non-minimally coupled to gravity plays the role of the inflaton. Our numerical results extend the analytical estimates in the literature beyond the linear regime and shed some light on the limitations of the analytical techniques. The inclusion of fast and inefficient decays postpones the onset of parametric resonance by depleting the particles produced at the bottom of the potential. In spite of this delay, fermions are shown to play an important role on the destruction of the inflaton field. The limitations of our approach and its applications to a realistic Higgs inflation scenario are also discussed.