On Primordial Black Holes from Rapid Turns in Two-field Models (2012.03705v3)

Abstract: We study rapid-turn trajectories in a class of two-field cosmological models, whose scalar manifold is the Poincar\'e disk. Background solutions in multi-field inflation, with field-space trajectories exhibiting sharp turns, can seed primordial black hole (PBH) formation. We investigate a class of exact solutions with hidden symmetry and show that they exhibit the kind of transient rapid-turn period, needed to induce PBH generation. Furthermore, we relax the symmetry condition and find, in a certain regime, modified solutions with improved behavior of the Hubble $\eta$-parameter, which preserve the desired shape of the turning rate function. Interestingly, the modified solutions describe a brief ultra-slow roll phase, followed by long-term slow roll inflation. It is notable that slow roll occurs near the center (not near the boundary) of the Poincar\'e disk, unlike in the standard $\alpha$-attractor case.