The Flux-Scaling scenario: De sitter uplift and axion inflation

Abstract

Non-geometric flux-scaling vacua provide promising starting points to realize axion monodromy inflation via the F-term scalar potential. We show that these vacua can be uplifted to Minkowski and de Sitter by adding an D3-brane or a D-term containing geometric and non-geometric fluxes. These uplifted non-supersymmetric models are analyzed with respect to their potential to realize axion monodromy inflation self-consistently. Admitting rational values of the fluxes, we construct examples with the required hierarchy of mass scales.

Large field inflation and string moduli stabilization

“…The first one is by adding an D3-brane while the second approach is by adding the D-term potential (2.16). As shown explicitly in [44], both methods are successful in generating Minkowski or de Sitter flux-scaling vacua. We discuss them in turn.…”

“…Since on a genuine CY the coefficients, a i j and b i , are fixed rational numbers, the effective fluxes are not necessarily integers. It was shown in [44], that this relaxation provides more freedom for finding models realizing the hierarchy (1.1) already for moderate values of λ . These models need fluxes with values smaller than one.…”

“…Section 5 contains a summary and conclusions. This review article is based on the recent publications [12,29,35,43,44].…”

A flux-scaling scenario for moduli stabilization and axion inflation in string theory

“…Concerning uplift of the cosmological constant, in principle it can be achieved by including a potential due to anti D3-branes but we could only find examples with unrealistic values of the parameters involved. More recently, by adding an extra anti D3-brane contribution to the scalar potential, we were indeed able to obtain Minkowski and dS vacua, although not continuously connected to the initial AdS ones 13 . One persistent problem with the models is that it is not always possible to attain moduli masses lower than the KK scale.…”

Quantum Gravity Constraints on Large Field Inflation

“…This model is of the flux-scaling type discussed in [47,48]. In type IIB the term involving the Kähler modulus T is generated by a so-called non-geometric Q-flux.…”