Preheating after inflation may lead to nonthermal phase transitions with symmetry restoration. These phase transitions may occur even if the total energy density of fluctuations produced during reheating is relatively small as compared with the vacuum energy in the state with restored symmetry. As a result, in some inflationary models one may encounter a secondary stage of inflation after preheating.

Topics
Phase transitions, Inflationary models, Vacuum energy
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© 1999 American Institute of Physics.
1999
American Institute of Physics
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