Dark energy as a remnant of inflation and electroweak symmetry breaking

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel mechanism where dark energy arises from the interaction between the Higgs boson and inflaton, linking early universe inflation and electroweak symmetry breaking to late-time acceleration.

Contribution

It introduces a new model where electroweak symmetry breaking triggers a second slow-roll phase of the inflaton, naturally producing observed dark energy without fine-tuning.

Findings

Dark energy density is explained without fine-tuning.

Electroweak symmetry breaking induces a second inflaton phase.

The model links inflation, gravity, and electroweak physics in explaining dark energy.

Abstract

It is shown that dark energy can be obtained from the interplay of the Higgs boson and the inflaton. A key element is the realization that electroweak symmetry breaking can trigger a second phase of rolling of the inflaton, which, when provided with the appropriate couplings between the fields, can be sufficiently slow to source accelerated expansion in the late time Universe. The observed dark energy density is obtained without fine-tuning of parameters or initial conditions due to an intricate conspiracy of numbers related to inflation, gravity and electroweak physics.