Very Hairy Inflation
Guido D'Amico, Nemanja Kaloper, Alexander Westphal

TL;DR
This paper explores multi-stage monodromy inflation models with strong coupling corrections, showing they fit CMB data, produce detectable gravitational waves, and may be linked to resolving the H0 tension.
Contribution
It introduces a comprehensive analysis of monodromy inflation with strong coupling effects, including predictions for gravitational waves and non-Gaussianities, and discusses implications for cosmological tensions.
Findings
Flattened potentials with p ≤ 1/2 fit CMB data.
Produced relic gravitational waves with r between 0.006 and 0.035.
Generated equilateral non-Gaussianity close to observational bounds.
Abstract
We revisit the rollercoaster cosmology based on multiple stages of monodromy inflation. Working within the framework of effective flux monodromy field theory, we include the full range of strong coupling corrections to the inflaton sector. We find that flattened potentials with , limited to efolds in the first stage of inflation, continue to fit the CMB. They yield , and produce relic gravity waves with , in full agreement with the most recent bounds from BICEP/{\it Keck}. The nonlinear derivative corrections generated by strong dynamics in EFT also lead to equilateral non-Gaussianity , close to the current observational bounds. Finally, in multi-stage rollercoaster, an inflaton-hidden sector coupling can…
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