Following the 2015 Planck release, we briefly comment on the status and some ongoing opportunities in the interface between inflationary cosmology, string theory, and CMB data. The constraints in the r– plane introduce a new parameter into inflationary cosmology relative to the simplest quadratic inflation model, in a direction which fits well with couplings to heavy fields as occurs in string theory. The precision of the data permits further searches for and constraints on additional model-dependent features, such as oscillatory N-spectra, a program requiring specific theoretically motivated shapes. Since the perturbations can easily be affected by additional sectors and couplings, null results can usefully bound such contributions. We also review the broader lessons string theory has contributed to our understanding of primordial inflation, and close with some approaches to a more complete framework.
À la suite de la publication, en 2015, des résultats du satellite Planck, nous commentons le statut de plusieurs recherches en cours à l'interface entre cosmologie inflationnaire, théorie des cordes et observation du fond diffus cosmologique. Par rapport au modèle le plus simple d'un champ massif, les contraintes dans le plan (r–) font intervenir un nouveau paramètre cosmologique qui donne une bonne description d'un couplage à des champs lourds, comme ceux apparaissant en théorie des cordes. La précision des données permet de rechercher et de contraindre des signatures supplémentaires et spécifiques de certains modèles, comme des oscillations dans les spectres d'ordre N, ce qui nécessite la détermination théorique préalable de la forme de ces spectres. Étant donné que les perturbations sont sensibles à l'introduction de nouveaux secteurs et de nouveaux couplages, des tests nuls sont utiles pour contraindre de telles contributions. Nous résumons les grandes leçons que la théorie des cordes a permis de tirer quant à notre compréhension de l'inflation primordiale, et concluons en décrivant quelques approches dans un cadre plus général.
Mots-clés : Cosmologie, Inflation, Théorie des cordes
Eva Silverstein 1
@article{CRPHYS_2015__16_10_1003_0,
author = {Eva Silverstein},
title = {Inflation in string theory confronts data},
journal = {Comptes Rendus. Physique},
pages = {1003--1011},
publisher = {Elsevier},
volume = {16},
number = {10},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1016/j.crhy.2015.08.006},
language = {en},
}
Eva Silverstein. Inflation in string theory confronts data. Comptes Rendus. Physique, Cosmic inflation / Inflation cosmique, Volume 16 (2015) no. 10, pp. 1003-1011. doi : 10.1016/j.crhy.2015.08.006. https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/physique/articles/10.1016/j.crhy.2015.08.006/
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