Conformal Inflation Coupled to Matter

Understand

We formulate new conformal models of inflation and dark energy which generalise the Higgs-Dilaton scenario.

• We embed these models in unimodular gravity whose effect is to break scale invariance in the late time Universe.
• In the early Universe, inflation occurs close to a maximum of both the scalar potential and the scalar coupling to the Ricci scalar in the Jordan frame.
• At late times, the dilaton, which decouples from the dynamics during inflation, receives a potential term from unimodular gravity and leads to the acceleration of the Universe.