Inhomogeneous initial conditions for inflation: A wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey path to salvation

Abstract: We use the 3+1 formalism of numerical relativity to investigate the robustness of Starobinsky and Higgs inflation to inhomogeneous initial conditions, in the form of either field gradient or kinetic energy density. Sub-Hubble and Hubble-sized fluctuations generically lead to inflation after an oscillatory phase between gradient and kinetic energies. Hubble-sized inhomogeneities also produce contracting regions that may end up forming primordial black holes, subsequently diluted by inflation. We analyse the dynamics of the preinflation era and the generation of vector and tensor fluctuations. Our analysis further supports the robustness of inflation to any size of inhomogeneity, in the field, velocity or equation of state. At large field values, the preinflation dynamics only marginally depends on the field potential and it is expected that such behaviour is universal and applies to any inflation potential of plateau-type, favoured by CMB observations after Planck.