# Large Tensor-to-Scalar Ratio in Small-Field Inflation

The production of gravitational waves from cosmic inflation > is normally bounded by the inflaton field excursion. This relation, > which is often referred to as the Lyth bound, claims that > observationally large gravitational waves are produced only if the > inflaton has a super-Planckian field range. In this talk I will point > out that this general belief is not necessarily true when there are > additional light fields producing density perturbations. Perturbations > seeded by the inflaton can be suppressed under such situations, thus > allow large gravitational waves to be produced even from small-field (i.e. > sub-Planckian) inflation. I will also show that the field bound is > taken over by the light field when the inflaton-induced perturbations > are suppressed, thus present a generalized form of the Lyth bound that > applies to the total field space. The calculations are rather simple, > so I will explain my work on a blackboard.

Collection/Series:
Event Type:
Seminar
Scientific Area(s):
Speaker(s):
Event Date:
Mardi, Février 25, 2014 - 13:00 to 14:30
Location:
Space Room