Connecting Cosmic Inflation to Particle Physics with LiteBIRD, CMB-S4, EUCLID, and SKA

Abstract

We show that next generation Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) experiments will be capable of the first ever measurement of the inflaton coupling to other particles, opening a new window to probe the connection between cosmic inflation and particle physics. This sensitivity is based on the impact that the reheating phase after cosmic inflation has on the redshifting of cosmic perturbations. For our analysis we introduce a simple analytic method to estimate the sensitivity of future CMB observations to the reheating temperature and the inflaton coupling. Applying our method to LiteBIRD and CMB-S4 we find that, within a given model of inflation, these missions have the potential to impose both an upper and a lower bound on the inflaton coupling. Further improvement can be achieved if CMB data are combined with optical and 21 cm surveys. Our results demonstrate the potential of future observations to constrain microphysical parameters that can provide an important clue to understand how a given model of inflation may be embedded in a more fundamental theory of nature.