Cosmological density perturbations from perturbed couplings

Abstract

The density perturbations generated when the inflaton decay rate is perturbed by a light scalar field $χ$ are studied. By explicitly solving the perturbation equations for the system of two scalar fields and radiation, we show that even in low energy-scale inflation nearly scale-invariant spectra of scalar perturbations with an amplitude set by observations are obtained through the conversion of $χ$ fluctuations into adiabatic density perturbations. We demonstrate that the spectra depend on the average decay rate of the inflaton & on the inflaton fluctuations. We then apply this new mechanism to string cosmologies & generalized Einstein theories and discuss the conditions under which scale-invariant spectra are possible.