Speaker
Mr
Mayukh Gangopadhyay
(Graduate Student)
Description
The power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background from both the Planck and WMAP data exhibits a slight dip in the vicinity of
$l= 20-30$. We show that such a dip could be the result of resonant creation of a massive particle that couples
to the inflaton field. For our
best-fit models, epochs of resonant particle creation reenter the
horizon at wave numbers of $k_* \sim 0.00011 \pm 0.0004 $ ($h$
Mpc$^{-1}$). The amplitude and location of these features correspond
to the creation of fermion species of mass $\sim 1-2$ M$_{pl}$ during
inflation with a coupling constant between the inflaton field and the
created fermion species of near unity. Although the evidence is
marginal, if this interpretation is correct, this could be one of the
first observational hints of new physics at the Planck scale.
Author
Prof.
Grant Mathews
(Proffesor)
Co-author
Mr
Mayukh Gangopadhyay
(Graduate Student)
