Flattening the inflaton potential beyond minimal gravity

TL;DR

This paper reviews extended Starobinsky-like inflation models with non-minimal gravity couplings, addressing unitarity issues and exploring inflaton interactions with the Standard Model Higgs field.

Contribution

It provides a self-consistent framework for inflation beyond minimal gravity and examines the implications of inflaton-Higgs couplings.

Findings

Induced gravity models resolve unitarity problems.

Inflaton couplings to the Higgs are viable within these models.

The models support consistent inflationary scenarios.

Abstract

We review the status of the Starobinsky-like models for inflation beyond minimal gravity and discuss the unitarity problem due to the presence of a large non-minimal gravity coupling. We show that the induced gravity models allow for a self-consistent description of inflation and discuss the implications of the inflaton couplings to the Higgs field in the Standard Model.