One-loop corrections to the E-type $α$-attractor models of inflation and primordial black hole production (2502.00628v2)

Abstract: The one-loop corrections (1LC) to the power spectrum of scalar perturbations arising from cubic interactions in the single-field E-type $\alpha$-attractor models of inflation and primordial black hole (PBH) production are numerically calculated. The results demonstrate the 1LC contributes merely a few percent to the tree-level power spectrum. The model parameters are chosen to predict the PBH masses in the asteroid-mass range, while maintaining consistency with the cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations within 1$\sigma$ confidence levels, and obeying the upper limits on $\mu$-distortions. The PBHs formed on scales smaller than the inflation scale can constitute a significant fraction of the present dark matter (DM). The PBH-induced gravitational waves (GW) may be detectable by the future space-based gravitational interferometers. We also consider a reconstruction of the scalar potential from possible GW observations and present a numerical approach tested in the model parameter space.