Inflation: Theory and Observations

arXiv (Cornell University)

Abstract

Cosmic inflation provides a window to the highest energy densities accessible in nature, far beyond those achievable in any realistic terrestrial experiment. Theoretical insights into the inflationary era and its observational probes may therefore shed unique light on the physical laws underlying our universe. This white paper describes our current theoretical understanding of the inflationary era, with a focus on the statistical properties of primordial fluctuations. In particular, we survey observational targets for three important signatures of inflation: primordial gravitational waves, primordial non-Gaussianity and primordial features. With the requisite advancements in analysis techniques, the tremendous increase in the raw sensitivities of upcoming and planned surveys will translate to leaps in our understanding of the inflationary paradigm and could open new frontiers for cosmology and particle physics. The combination of future theoretical and observational developments therefore offer the potential for a dramatic discovery about the nature of cosmic acceleration in the very early universe and physics on the smallest scales.

Authors 21

1. Ana Achúcarro
2. Matteo Biagetti
3. Matteo Braglia

   Osservatorio astronomico di Bologna · Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica di Bologna · Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

   Affiliation as printed

   INAF -Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna , 40129 Bologna , Italy

   Instituto de Física Teorica UAM-CSIC , Universidad Autónoma de Madrid , 28049 Madrid , Spain

4. Giovanni Cabass

   Institute for Advanced Study

   Affiliation as printed

   School of Natural Sciences , Institute for Advanced Study , Princeton , NJ 08540 , USA

5. Robert Caldwell

   Dartmouth College

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Physics and Astronomy , Dartmouth College , Hanover , NH 03755 , USA

6. Emanuele Castorina

   University of Milan

   Affiliation as printed

   Dipartimento di Fisica "Aldo Pontremoli" , Università degli Studi di Milano , 20133 Milano , Italy

7. Xingang Chen

   Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian

   Affiliation as printed

   Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics , Cambridge , MA 02138 , USA

8. William R. Coulton

   Flatiron Institute

   Affiliation as printed

   Center for Computational Astrophysics , Flatiron Institute , New York , NY 10010 , USA

9. Raphael Flauger

   University of California San Diego

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Physics , University of California San Diego , La Jolla , CA 92093 , USA

10. Jacopo Fumagalli

    Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

    Affiliation as printed

    Departamento de Física Teorica , Universidad Autónoma de Madrid , 28049 Madrid , Spain

    Instituto de Física Teorica UAM-CSIC , Universidad Autónoma de Madrid , 28049 Madrid , Spain

11. Mikhail M. Ivanov

    Institute for Advanced Study

    Affiliation as printed

    School of Natural Sciences , Institute for Advanced Study , Princeton , NJ 08540 , USA

12. Hayden Lee

    University of Chicago

    Affiliation as printed

    Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics , University of Chicago , Chicago , IL 60637 , USA

13. Azadeh Maleknejad

    European Organization for Nuclear Research

    Affiliation as printed

    Theoretical Physics Department , CERN , 1211 Genève , Switzerland

14. P. Daniel Meerburg

    University of Groningen

    Affiliation as printed

    Van Swinderen Institute for Particle Physics and Gravity , University of Groningen , 9747 AG Groningen , The Netherlands

15. Azadeh Moradinezhad Dizgah

    University of Geneva

    Affiliation as printed

    Département de Physique Théorique , Université de Genève , 1211 Genève , Switzerland

16. Gonzalo A. Palma

    University of Chile

    Affiliation as printed

    Departamento de Física , Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas , Universidad de Chile , Santiago , Chile

17. Guilherme L. Pimentel Aachen Lorentz Institute for Theoretical Physics

    Leiden University · Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris · Institute of Physics · University of Amsterdam

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute of Physics , University of Amsterdam , 1098 XH Amsterdam , The Netherlands

    Lorentz Institute for Theoretical Physics , Leiden University , 2333 CA Leiden , The Netherlands

    IAP - Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (98bis, bd Arago - 75014 Paris France - France)

18. Sébastien Renaux‐Petel

    Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris · Sorbonne Université

    Affiliation as printed

    Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (IAP) , CNRS & Sorbonne University , 75014 Paris , France

19. Benjamin D. Wandelt

    Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris · Sorbonne Université · Flatiron Institute

    Affiliation as printed

    Center for Computational Astrophysics , Flatiron Institute , New York , NY 10010 , USA

    Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (IAP) , CNRS & Sorbonne University , 75014 Paris , France

    IAP - Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (98bis, bd Arago - 75014 Paris France - France)

20. Lukas T. Witkowski

    Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris · Sorbonne Université

    Affiliation as printed

    Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (IAP) , CNRS & Sorbonne University , 75014 Paris , France

    IAP - Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (98bis, bd Arago - 75014 Paris France - France)

21. Weiyan Wu

    SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory · Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology · Stanford University

    Affiliation as printed

    Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology , Stanford , CA 94305 , USA

    SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory , Menlo Park , CA 94025 , USA