Litcius/Paper detail

Approximate reconstruction of inflationary potential with ACT observations

Zhu Yi, Xingzhi Wang, Qing Gao, Yungui Gong

2025Physics Letters B15 citationsDOIOpen Access PDF

Abstract

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) has recently reported updated measurements of the scalar spectral index n s , revealing a tension with the predictions of many conventional inflationary models. In this work, we adopt a parameterization of the spectral index in the form n s = 1 − p / ( N + α ) with 1.338 < p < 1.746, to reconstruct an inflationary potential consistent with the latest ACT data. The resulting potential is the Kachru–Kallosh–Linde–Trivedi (KKLT) potential V ( ϕ ) = V 0 / [ 1 + ( M / ϕ ) n ] , where the power index is given by n = 2 ( p − 1 ) / ( 2 − p ) . The corresponding tensor-to-scalar ratio is approximately r ≈ 16 ( p − 1 ) / [ C ( N + α ) p ] with C = 2 2 p − 1 [ p − 1 / ( 2 − p ) ] 2 p − 2 / M 2 p − 2 . Since the reconstruction under the slow-roll approximation is model-independent, the KKLT model can serve as an effective approximation to a broad class of inflationary scenarios that are consistent with the latest ACT measurements of n s , at least on large scales.

Topics & Concepts

PhysicsSpectral indexInflation (cosmology)Scalar (mathematics)CosmologyTheoretical physicsSpectral densityClass (philosophy)Mathematical physicsCosmic background radiationIndex (typography)Power indexSlow rollPower lawScalar potentialScalar fieldStatistical physicsCosmology and Gravitation TheoriesGalaxies: Formation, Evolution, PhenomenaAstronomy and Astrophysical Research
Approximate reconstruction of inflationary potential with ACT observations | Litcius