Generalized Hilltop Inflation

TL;DR

This paper explores a generalized hilltop inflation model with fractional powers, finding that it aligns with experimental data when certain parameters are high or low, and the inflationary scale remains near the GUT scale.

Contribution

It introduces a generalized hilltop inflation framework with fractional powers, expanding the parameter space and analyzing its compatibility with current experimental constraints.

Findings

High values of m are favored by data.

Low values of n are favored by data.

Inflationary scale remains near the GUT scale across configurations.

Abstract

We study a generalized version of hilltop inflation where the standard hilltop potential has been raised to a power and we allow fractional numbers for both the original hilltop power ($m$) and the overall exponent ($n$). In the parameter space studied, agreement with the latest experimental constraints favors high values for $m$ and low values for $n$. Finally, we also find that in all the configurations studied, the inflationary scale always sits around the grand unification scale.