Parametric Decay of the Curvaton

Abstract

We argue that the curvaton decay takes place most naturally by way of a broad parametric resonance. The mechanism is analogous to resonant inflaton decay but does not require any tuning of the curvaton coupling strength to other scalar fields. For low scale inflation and a correspondingly low mass scale for the curvaton, we speculate on observable consequences including the possibility of stochastic gravitational waves