Stochastic inflation in a simple two-field model
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Abstract
The dynamics of a nondominating scalar field during inflation is considered in the framework of the stochastic approach where its motion and that of the inflaton are described by two coupled Langevin equations. Curvature perturbations induced by the inflaton make the problem that of a Brownian motion in a random medium. The associated Fokker-Planck equation is solved for a free massless field in a power-law inflation driven by an inflaton with an exponential potential: this simple model could describe the dynamics of the axion, or any other pseudoGoldstone boson, during inflation. In spite of being free, the field shows a highly non-Gaussian behavior on scales much larger than the present horizon; on observable scales it gives rise to isocurvature perturbations which are both essentially Gaussian and scale-free.