%0 Journal Article
%T Inflation without Inflaton(s)
%A Scott Watson
%A Malcolm J. Perry
%A Gordon L. Kane
%A Fred C. Adams
%J Physics
%D 2006
%I arXiv
%R 10.1088/1475-7516/2007/11/017
%X We propose a model for early universe cosmology without the need for fundamental scalar fields. Cosmic acceleration and phenomenologically viable reheating of the universe results from a series of energy transitions, where during each transition vacuum energy is converted to thermal radiation. We show that this `cascading universe' can lead to successful generation of adiabatic density fluctuations and an observable gravity wave spectrum in some cases, where in the simplest case it reproduces a spectrum similar to slow-roll models of inflation. We also find the model provides a reasonable reheating temperature after inflation ends. This type of model may also be relevant for addressing the smallness of the vacuum energy today.
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0610054v3