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Grand unification Higgs- Inflation: Complementarity between proton decay and CMB observables
Phys. Rev. D 113, 055042 – Published 25 March, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/nx7w-xstd
Abstract
We propose a predictive grand unified theory (GUT) framework for cosmic inflation within the Palatini formulation of gravity. In this model, a GUT Higgs field simultaneously drives inflation and induces intermediate-scale symmetry breaking, thereby linking primordial cosmology, gauge unification, and formation of topological defects. A subsequent partial inflationary phase of -folds occurring after monopole formation can dilute magnetic monopoles to abundances . The model predicts cosmic microwave background (CMB) observables in the range , accommodating the mild tension between the Planck–BICEP () and Planck () measurements via the and branches, respectively, where denotes the renormalization scale entering the Coleman–Weinberg potential. The predicted tensor-to-scalar ratio, , is consistent with current observational bounds and may be accessible to forthcoming experiments, including the Simons Observatory and LiteBIRD. Furthermore, correlations among the unification scale , the inflationary observables , and proton-decay lifetimes reveal a strong complementarity between CMB measurements and proton-decay searches, with regions of parameter space testable by upcoming experiments, such as Hyper-Kamiokande and DUNE.
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