Warming up the Fibres

TL;DR

This paper explores embedding fibre inflation models into warm inflation scenarios within string theory, demonstrating their viability with observational data and the potential for sub-Planckian field excursions.

Contribution

It introduces the first comprehensive analysis of warm inflation in fibre inflation models derived from string theory, considering various corrections and regimes.

Findings

All four fibre inflation potentials studied are compatible with Planck and ACT data.

Warm inflation extends the parameter space and allows for sub-Planckian field excursions.

Large dissipation ratios can achieve inflation with controlled field ranges.

Abstract

Fibre inflationary models are constructed in type-IIB string flux compactification. These models have been shown to be in agreement with the cosmological observations under appropriate choices of parameters, which originate from their string theory construction. In the present work, we embed such models, originally studied in the cold inflation picture, in the context of warm inflation. We study the viability of different fibre inflation potentials in both strong and weak dissipative regime of warm inflation. In fibre inflation, the inflaton is a four-dimensional complex manifold -- a fibre of a $K3$ fibred Calabi-Yau. The potential in this case is generated by an interplay of various perturbative and non-perturbative corrections. The former type of corrections consists of leading-order $\alpha'^3-$ term, higher derivative $F^4-$ correction, and various string loop corrections of KK, log-loop and winding type. Depending on the balance between several corrections, we present four different fibre inflationary potentials and show that the warm inflationary pictures for all of them can successfully fall in the viable window from both Planck and recent Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) data. We show that warm inflation makes it possible to extend the range of parameters of applicability of these models. Our results also indicate that with the help of a large dissipation ratio, one can achieve a sub-Planckian field excursion, although, this runs on the possibility of moving away from the perturbative control of low-energy four-dimensional supergravity theory.