Non-minimally assisted chaotic inflation

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that non-minimal coupling of an auxiliary scalar field can revive certain power-law chaotic inflation models previously ruled out by observational data, expanding viable inflationary scenarios.

Contribution

It introduces a mechanism where non-minimal coupling assists power-law chaotic inflation models, making them compatible with recent observational constraints.

Findings

n=1/3 model revived with quadratic coupling

n=2/3 and 1/3 models revived with quartic coupling

Non-minimal coupling broadens inflation model viability

Abstract

Conventional wisdom says that a chaotic inflation model with a power-law potential is ruled out by the recent Planck-BICEP/Keck results. We find, however, that the model can be assisted by a non-minimally coupled scalar field and still provides a successful inflation. Considering a power-law chaotic inflation model of the type $V\sim \varphi^n$ with $n=\{2, 4/3, 1, 2/3, 1/3\}$, we show that $n=1/3$ ($n=\{2/3, 1/3\}$) may be revived with the help of the quadratic (quartic) non-minimal coupling of the assistant field to gravity.