Inflation in the Mixed Higgs-$R^2$ Model

Abstract: We analyze a two-field inflationary model consisting of the Ricci scalar squared ($R^2$) term and the standard Higgs field non-minimally coupled to gravity in addition to the Einstein $R$ term. Detailed analysis of the power spectrum of this model with mass hierarchy is presented, and we find that one can describe this model as an effective single-field model in the slow-roll regime with a modified sound speed. The scalar spectral index predicted by this model coincides with those given by the $R^2$ inflation and the Higgs inflation implying that there is a close relation between this model and the $R^2$ inflation already in the original (Jordan) frame. For a typical value of the self-coupling of the standard Higgs field at the high energy scale of inflation, the role of the Higgs field in parameter space involved is to modify the scalaron mass, so that the original mass parameter in the $R^2$ inflation can deviate from its standard value when non-minimal coupling between the Ricci scalar and the Higgs field is large enough.