Scale hierarchies, supersymmetry and cosmology

Abstract

I discuss a general class of models where the 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 two different classes of small field inflation models; they are characterized by an inflationary plateau around the maximum of the scalar potential, where R-symmetry is either restored or spontaneously broken, with the inflaton rolling down to a minimum describing the present phase of our universe. Inflation can be driven by either an F- or a D-term, while the minimum has a positive tuneable vacuum energy. The models agree with cosmological observations and in the simplest case predict a tensor-to-scalar ratio of primordial perturbations [Formula: see text] and an inflation scale [Formula: see text].