Constraining inflation with nonminimal derivative coupling with the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array third data release

作     者：Han, Chang Chen, Li-Yang Chen, Zu-Cheng Fu, Chengjie Wu, Puxun Yu, Hongwei Bhat, N.D. Ramesh Liu, Xiaojin Di Marco, Valentina Mishra, Saurav Reardon, Daniel J. Russell, Christopher J. Shannon, Ryan M. Zhang, Lei Zhu, Xingjiang Zic, Andrew 

作者机构：Department of Physics Synergetic Innovation Center for Quantum Effects and Applications Hunan Normal University Hunan Changsha410081 China Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies Hunan Normal University Hunan Changsha410081 China College of Physics and Engineering Technology Chengdu Normal University Sichuan Chengdu611130 China Department of Physics Anhui Normal University Anhui Wuhu241002 China International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research Curtin University BentleyWA6102 Australia Department of Physics Faculty of Arts and Sciences Beijing Normal University Zhuhai519087 China School of Physics and Astronomy Monash University ClaytonVIC3800 Australia OzGrav: The ARC Center of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery ClaytonVIC3800 Australia Australia Telescope National Facility CSIRO PO Box 76 EppingNSW1710 Australia Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing Swinburne University of Technology P.O. Box 218 HawthornVIC3122 Australia OzGrav: The ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery HawthornVIC3122 Australia CSIRO Scientific Computing Australian Technology Park Locked Bag 9013 AlexandriaNSW1435 Australia National Astronomical Observatories Chinese Academy of Sciences A20 Datun Road Chaoyang District Beijing100101 China Institute for Frontier in Astronomy and Astrophysics Beijing Normal University Beijing102206 China 

出 版 物：《arXiv》 (arXiv)

年 卷 期：2024年

核心收录：

主　　题：Gravitational effects 

摘      要：We study an inflation model with nonminimal derivative coupling that features a coupling between the derivative of the inflaton field and the Einstein tensor. This model naturally amplifies curvature perturbations at small scales via gravitationally enhanced friction, a mechanism critical for the formation of primordial black holes and the associated production of potentially detectable scalar-induced gravitational waves. We derive analytical expressions for the primordial power spectrum, enabling efficient exploration of the model parameter space without requiring computationally intensive numerical solutions of the Mukhanov-Sasaki equation. Using the third data release of the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA DR3), we constrain the model parameters characterizing the coupling function: c = 3.7+0−035MP, log10 ωL = 7.1+0−063, and log10 σ = −8.3+0−036 at 90% confidence level. Our results demonstrate the growing capability of pulsar timing arrays to probe early Universe physics, complementing traditional cosmic microwave background observations by providing unique constraints on inflationary dynamics at small scales. © 2024, CC BY.