Higgs-portal assisted Higgs inflation with a sizeable tensor-to-scalar ratio (1405.1635v4)

Abstract: We show that the Higgs portal interactions involving extra dark Higgs field can save generically the original Higgs inflation of the standard model (SM) from the problem of a deep non-SM vacuum in the SM Higgs potential. Specifically, we show that such interactions disconnect the top quark pole mass from inflationary observables and allow multi-dimensional parameter space to save the Higgs inflation, thanks to the additional parameters (the dark Higgs boson mass $m_{\phi}$, the mixing angle $\alpha$ between the SM Higgs $H$ and dark Higgs $\Phi$, and the mixed quartic coupling) affecting RG-running of the Higgs quartic coupling. The effect of Higgs portal interactions may lead to a larger tensor-to-scalar ratio, $0.08 \lesssim r \lesssim 0.1$, by adjusting relevant parameters in wide ranges of $\alpha$ and $m_{\phi}$, some region of which can be probed at future colliders. Performing a numerical analysis we find an allowed region of parameters, matching the latest Planck data.