We study the geometrical instability arising in multi-field models of inflation with negatively-curved field space. We analyse how the homogeneous background evolves in presence of geometrical destabilisation, and show that, in simple models, a kinematical backreaction effect takes place that shuts off the instability. We also follow the evolution of the unstable scalar fluctuations and show that, in most situations, they must remain in the perturbative regime in order to satisfy observational constraints. We conclude that, in the simplest models of geometrical destabilisation, inflation does not end prematurely, but rather proceeds along a modified, sidetracked, field-space trajectory.is a holomorphic function of the fields φ i . Upon expressing the Lagrangian (2.2) in terms of real scalar fields, it is indeed of the type (2.1), though with a specific structure dictated by the superpotential and the Kähler potential of the theory. Note that in this context, the description of inflation using multiple fields is a built-in feature, as even the simplest models involve one complex scalar field, i.e. two real scalar fields. We also stress that the fact that the Kähler metric generically describes a curved internal space is dictated by the theoretical structure of these theories. For instance, in the case of a string compactification with N = 1 supersymmetry, K and W are related to geometric properties of the compactification.

In the framework of collinear QCD factorization, the leading twist scattering amplitudes for deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS) and timelike Compton scattering (TCS) are intimately related thanks to analytic properties of leading and next-to-leading order amplitudes. We exploit this welcome feature to make datadriven predictions for TCS observables to be measured in near future experiments. Using a recent extraction of DVCS Compton form factors from most of the existing experimental data for that process, we derive TCS amplitudes and calculate TCS observables only assuming leading-twist dominance. Artificial neural network techniques are used for an essential reduction of model dependency, while a careful propagation of experimental uncertainties is achieved with replica methods. Our analysis allows for stringent tests of the leading twist dominance of DVCS and TCS amplitudes. Moreover, this study helps to understand quantitatively the complementarity of DVCS and TCS measurements to test the universality of generalized parton distributions, which is crucial e.g. to perform the nucleon tomography.

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