Inflationary α -attractor cosmology: A global dynamical systems perspective

Abstract

We study flat Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker α-attractor E- and T-models by introducing a dynamical systems framework that yields regularized unconstrained field equations on two-dimensional compact state spaces. This results in both illustrative figures and a complete description of the entire solution spaces of these models, including asymptotics. In particular, it is shown that observational viability, which requires a sufficient number of e-folds, is associated with a particular solution given by a one-dimensional center manifold of a past asymptotic de Sitter state, where the center manifold structure also explains why nearby solutions are attracted to this "inflationary attractor solution." A center manifold expansion yields a description of the inflationary regime with arbitrary analytic accuracy, where the slow-roll approximation asymptotically describes the tangency condition of the center manifold at the asymptotic de Sitter state.