# A Dynamical Weak Scale from Inflation

## TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel cosmological relaxation mechanism during inflation where the Higgs vacuum expectation value influences the end of inflation, potentially addressing the hierarchy problem without new physics near the weak scale.

## Contribution

It introduces a new interplay between inflation and the relaxion mechanism, allowing the Higgs VEV to naturally end inflation and raise the cutoff scale to about 10^{10} GeV.

## Key findings

- The relaxion's backreaction can end inflation at the weak scale.
- The scenario raises the natural cutoff to ~10^{10} GeV.
- Minimal relaxion sector without additional scalars or new physics near the weak scale.

## Abstract

Dynamical scanning of the Higgs mass by an axion-like particle during inflation may provide a cosmological component to explaining part of the hierarchy problem. We propose a novel interplay of this cosmological relaxation mechanism with inflation, whereby the backreaction of the Higgs vacuum expectation value near the weak scale causes inflation to end. As Hubble drops, the relaxion's dissipative friction increases relative to Hubble and slows it down enough to be trapped by the barriers of its periodic potential. Such a scenario raises the natural cut-off of the theory up to $\sim 10^{10}$ GeV, while maintaining a minimal relaxion sector without having to introduce additional scanning scalars or new physics coincidentally close to the weak scale.