Planck 2013 and Superconformal Symmetry

Understand

We explain why the concept of a spontaneously broken superconformal symmetry is useful to describe inflationary models favored by the Planck.

• Non-minimal coupling of complex scalars to curvature, N(X, X*) R, is compulsory for superconformal symmetry.
• Here N is the Kahler potential of the embedding moduli space, including the inflaton and the conformon.
• It appears that such a non-minimal coupling allows generic chaotic models of inflation to reach an agreement with the observable (n_{s},r) values.