Gravitational production of heavy particles during and after inflation
Abstract We investigate the gravitational production of a scalar field χ with a mass exceeding the Hubble scale during inflation m χ ≳ H I , employing both analytical and numerical approaches. We demonstrate that the steepest descent method effectively captures the epochs and yields of gravitational...
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2024-09-01
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| Series: | Journal of High Energy Physics |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP09(2024)129 |
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| author | Davide Racco Sarunas Verner Wei Xue |
| author_facet | Davide Racco Sarunas Verner Wei Xue |
| author_sort | Davide Racco |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract We investigate the gravitational production of a scalar field χ with a mass exceeding the Hubble scale during inflation m χ ≳ H I , employing both analytical and numerical approaches. We demonstrate that the steepest descent method effectively captures the epochs and yields of gravitational production in a compact and simple analytical framework. These analytical results align with the numerical solutions of the field equation. Our study covers three spacetime backgrounds: de Sitter, power-law inflation, and the Starobinsky inflation model. Within these models, we identify two distinct phases of particle production: during and after inflation. During inflation, we derive an accurate analytic expression for the particle production rate, accounting for a varying Hubble rate. After inflation, the additional burst of particle production depends on the inflaton mass around its minimum. When this mass is smaller than the Hubble scale during inflation, H I , there is no significant extra production. However, if the inflaton mass is larger, post-inflation production becomes the dominant contribution. Furthermore, we explore the implications of gravitationally produced heavy fields for dark matter abundance, assuming their cosmological stability. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e097022ccee04ef8ab669fd27fa2def2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1029-8479 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-09-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of High Energy Physics |
| spelling | doaj-art-e097022ccee04ef8ab669fd27fa2def22024-12-08T12:15:16ZengSpringerOpenJournal of High Energy Physics1029-84792024-09-012024913610.1007/JHEP09(2024)129Gravitational production of heavy particles during and after inflationDavide Racco0Sarunas Verner1Wei Xue2Institut für Theoretische Physik, ETH ZürichInstitute for Fundamental Theory, Physics Department, University of FloridaInstitute for Fundamental Theory, Physics Department, University of FloridaAbstract We investigate the gravitational production of a scalar field χ with a mass exceeding the Hubble scale during inflation m χ ≳ H I , employing both analytical and numerical approaches. We demonstrate that the steepest descent method effectively captures the epochs and yields of gravitational production in a compact and simple analytical framework. These analytical results align with the numerical solutions of the field equation. Our study covers three spacetime backgrounds: de Sitter, power-law inflation, and the Starobinsky inflation model. Within these models, we identify two distinct phases of particle production: during and after inflation. During inflation, we derive an accurate analytic expression for the particle production rate, accounting for a varying Hubble rate. After inflation, the additional burst of particle production depends on the inflaton mass around its minimum. When this mass is smaller than the Hubble scale during inflation, H I , there is no significant extra production. However, if the inflaton mass is larger, post-inflation production becomes the dominant contribution. Furthermore, we explore the implications of gravitationally produced heavy fields for dark matter abundance, assuming their cosmological stability.https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP09(2024)129Cosmological modelsCosmology of Theories BSMNonperturbative Effects |
| spellingShingle | Davide Racco Sarunas Verner Wei Xue Gravitational production of heavy particles during and after inflation Journal of High Energy Physics Cosmological models Cosmology of Theories BSM Nonperturbative Effects |
| title | Gravitational production of heavy particles during and after inflation |
| title_full | Gravitational production of heavy particles during and after inflation |
| title_fullStr | Gravitational production of heavy particles during and after inflation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gravitational production of heavy particles during and after inflation |
| title_short | Gravitational production of heavy particles during and after inflation |
| title_sort | gravitational production of heavy particles during and after inflation |
| topic | Cosmological models Cosmology of Theories BSM Nonperturbative Effects |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP09(2024)129 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davideracco gravitationalproductionofheavyparticlesduringandafterinflation AT sarunasverner gravitationalproductionofheavyparticlesduringandafterinflation AT weixue gravitationalproductionofheavyparticlesduringandafterinflation |