Power-law modulation of the scalar power spectrum from a heavy field with a monomial potential

TL;DR

This paper analytically investigates how a heavy field with a monomial potential influences the scalar power spectrum during inflation, revealing a power-law oscillation pattern that simplifies to a logarithmic form for quadratic potentials.

Contribution

It provides an analytical calculation of scalar power spectrum modulations caused by heavy fields with monomial potentials, highlighting the transition from power-law to logarithmic oscillations.

Findings

Modulation characterized by power-law oscillations.

Logarithmic oscillation occurs for quadratic potential (n=2).

Analytical expressions for the spectrum modulations derived.

Abstract

The effects of heavy fields modulate the scalar power spectrum during inflation. We analytically calculate the modulations of the scalar power spectrum from a heavy field with a separable monomial potential, i.e. V(\phi)~\phi^n. In general the modulation is characterized by a power-law oscillation which is reduced to the logarithmic oscillation in the case of n=2.