Automorphic inflation

Understand

A framework of inflation is formulated based on symmetry groups and their associated automorphic functions.

• In this setting the inflaton multiplet takes values in a curved target space constructed from a continuous group $G$ and a discrete subgroup $\Gamma$.
• The dynamics of inflationary models is essentially determined by the choice of the pair $(G,\Gamma)$ and a function $\Phi$ on the group $G$ relative to $\Gamma$.
• Automorphic inflation provides a natural structure in which the shift symmetry of large field inflation arises as one of generators of $\Gamma$.