Analytic solution of the Starobinsky model for inflation

Abstract

We prove that the field equations of the Starobinsky model for inflation in a Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker metric constitute an integrable system. The analytical solution in terms of a Painlevé series for the Starobinsky model is presented for the case of zero and nonzero spatial curvature. In both cases the leading-order term describes the radiation era provided by the corresponding higher-order theory.