Recently, a class of inflation models in supergravity with gauge non-singlet matter fields as the inflaton has been proposed. It is based on a 'tribrid' structure in the superpotential and on a 'Heisenberg symmetry' for solving the η-problem. We suggest that a generalization of this model class may be suitable for realising inflation in heterotic orbifold compactifications, where the Heisenberg symmetry is a property of the tree-level Kähler potential of untwisted matter fields. We discuss moduli stabilization in this setup and propose a mechanism to stabilize the modulus associated to the inflaton, which respects the symmetry in the large radius limit. Inflation ends via a 'waterfall' phase transition, as in hybrid inflation. We give conditions which have to be satisfied for realising inflation along these lines in the matter sector of heterotic orbifolds.

We propose a general scenario for moduli stabilization where low-energy supersymmetry can be accommodated with a high scale of inflation. The key ingredient is that the stabilization of the modulus field during and after inflation is not associated with a single, common scale, but relies on two different mechanisms. We illustrate this general scenario in a simple example, where during inflation the modulus is stabilized with a large mass by a Kähler potential coupling to the field which provides the inflationary vacuum energy via its F-term. After inflation, the modulus is stabilized, for instance, by a KKLT superpotential.

Tachyonic 5d scalars are generically present in Randall-Sundrum-like models. In particular, they are known to be part of the 5d effective description of the KlebanovStrassler throat. When moving from the IR to the UV region, the 5d bulk profile of Kaluza-Klein excitations of tachyons decays more slowly than that of massless scalars or the graviton. As a result, tachyons in many cases dominate the coupling between IR-and UV-localized sectors, leading to a very significant enhancement of energy-transfer or decay rates from the IR to the UV. This can dramatically affect the reheating of the Standard Model after brane inflation and the decay of throat dark matter.

We propose a new model of slow-roll inflation in string cosmology, based on warped throat supergravity solutions displaying 'walking' dynamics, i. e. the coupling constant of the dual gauge theory slowly varies over a range of energy scales. The features of the throat geometry are sourced by a rich field content, given by the dilaton and RR and NS fluxes. By considering the motion of a D3-brane probe in this geometry, we are able to analytically calculate the brane potential in a physically interesting regime. This potential has an inflection point: in its proximity we realize a model of inflation lasting sixty e-foldings, and whose robust predictions are in agreement with current observations. We are also able to interpret some of the most interesting aspects of this scenario in terms of the properties of the QFT dual theory.