The D3-$$ \overline{D}3 $$-brane inflation model revisited

Abstract

Combining previous results, the D3-$$ \overline{D}3 $$ D ¯ 3 -brane pair potential U(T, ϕ) is presented here, where the inflaton ϕ measures the separation between the D3-brane and the anti-D3-brane, and the complex scalar mode T becomes tachyonic when the annihilation of the branes happens as they collide. Besides the distinct form of the inflationary potential, this hybrid inflationary model differs from a typical hybrid model in 2 important aspects: (1) U(T, ϕ) becomes complex when T becomes tachyonic, where Im U(T, ϕ) plays an important role in the dynamics towards the end of the inflationary epoch; (2) tunnelling during the inflationary epoch can happen; this is particularly relevant if there are multiple D3-$$ \overline{D}3 $$ D ¯ 3 -brane pairs in different warped throats. Besides the production of cosmic superstrings, the model offers the possibility of first order phase transition that may generate large enough density perturbation for the primordial black hole production. Stochastic gravitational wave background from these sources remain to be fully investigated.