Challenges for inverted hybrid inflation

Inverted hybrid inflation (in which the inflaton field slowly rolls away from the origin, giving a spectral index n ≲ 1) is an appealing variant of the more usually studied hybrid model. Analysing the model alongside the ordinary hybrid case, we show that, in order to provide the correct density perturbations consistent with the COBE measurements, the dimensionless coupling constants of the inverted hybrid potential must be very small indeed. For example, the quartic coupling in a typical such potential is found to be ≲ 10−12. A supersymmetric model of inverted hybrid inflation, which does not involve the troublesome quartic coupling is found to lead to a potential which is unbounded from below.