Calculations of Inflaton Decays and Reheating: with Applications to No-Scale Inflation Models

الأصل · EN

We discuss inflaton decays and reheating in no-scale Starobinsky-like models of inflation, calculating the effective equation-of-state parameter, w, during the epoch of inflaton decay, the reheating temperature, T reh, and the number of inflationary e-folds, N*, comparing analytical approximations with numerical calculations. We then illustrate these results with applications to models based on no-scale supergravity and motivated by generic string compactifications, including scenarios where the inflaton is identified as an untwisted-sector matter field with direct Yukawa couplings to MSSM fields, and where the inflaton decays via gravitational-strength interactions. Finally, we use our results to discuss the constraints on these models imposed by present measurements of the scalar spectral index nₛ and the tensor-to-scalar perturbation ratio r, converting them into constraints on N*, the inflaton decay rate and other parameters of specific no-scale inflationary models.