Inflationary Reheating to Preheating - A Personal Account

TL;DR

This paper recounts the early development of the preheating concept in inflationary cosmology, highlighting the instability mechanisms and their broader relevance in the field.

Contribution

It provides a personal historical perspective on the origins of the preheating stage and discusses the applicability of instability mechanisms in cosmology.

Findings

Identification of instability mechanisms in inflationary models

Broader applicability of preheating in cosmology

Historical account of early inflationary research

Abstract

This is a personal account of the early work that led to what is now known as the ``preheating stage" of inflationary cosmology. The broader applicability of the underlying instability mechanisms in cosmology are indicated.