Bounce inflation driven by Higgs field

Abstract

In this work, we investigate a model of bounce inflation driven by the Higgs field. The Higgs field is non-minimally coupled with gravity through the Gauss-Bonnet term. We show that the Higgs field could drive a power-law contraction followed by a bounce and thereafter an inflationary phase with exit. The phases of contraction and inflation are obtained analytically. The smooth transition to the inflationary phase from contraction is obtained numerically. Further, the power-spectrum of the model is found to be consistent with the cosmological data.