Weyl-invariant Einstein-Cartan gravity with a heavy ALP: Higgs Inflation and $\alpha$-attractors

TL;DR

This paper explores how Weyl-invariant Einstein-Cartan gravity, coupled with the Standard Model and a heavy axion-like particle, can support Higgs-driven inflation, expanding the understanding of early universe models.

Contribution

It introduces a novel framework combining Weyl invariance, Einstein-Cartan gravity, and a heavy ALP to realize Higgs inflation.

Findings

Higgs inflation is compatible within this Weyl-invariant Einstein-Cartan setup.

The model incorporates a heavy axion-like particle consistent with inflationary dynamics.

Potential connections to $eta$-attractors and observational signatures are suggested.

Abstract

We initiate the analysis of the inflationary dynamics in Weyl-invariant Einstein-Cartan gravity nonminimally coupled to the Standard Model of particle physics. We take the axion-like particle of gravitational origin to be heavy and show that inflation with the Higgs field can be accommodated in this framework.