Matching and running sensitivity in non-renormalizable inflationary models

Understand

Most of the inflationary models that are in agreement with the Planck data rely on the presence of non-renormalizable operators.

• If the connection to low energy particle physics is made, the renormalization group (RG) introduces a sensitivity to ultraviolet (UV) physics that can be crucial in determining the inflationary predictions.
• We analyse this effect for the Standard Model (SM) augmented with non-minimal derivative couplings to gravity.
• Our set-up reduces to the SM for small values of the Higgs field, and allows for inflation in the opposite large field regime.