Challenges in string and supersymmetric cosmology

Abstract

We discuss the possibility that inflation is driven by supersymmetry breaking with the superpartner of the goldstino (sgoldstino) playing the role of the inflaton. Imposing an R-symmetry allows to satisfy easily the slow-roll conditions, avoiding the so-called [Formula: see text]-problem, and leads to an interesting class of small field inflation models, characterized by an inflationary plateau around the maximum of the scalar potential near the origin, where R-symmetry is restored with the inflaton rolling down to a minimum describing the present phase of the Universe. Inflation can be driven by either an [Formula: see text]- or a [Formula: see text]-term, while the minimum has a positive tuneable vacuum energy. The models agree with cosmological observations and in the simplest case predict a rather small tensor-to-scalar ratio of primordial perturbations.