Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2019/iii/paper-310/1/d/solution

The identity
shows that accelerating expansion has and , whereas accelerated contraction has , , and .
For the monomial inflation potential , the two potential slow-roll parameters are
Thus requires , while requires .
At , the specified velocity gives kinetic energy
Hence , , and the first Hubble slow-roll parameter is
The universe is therefore decelerating, despite the flatness of the potential: the chosen initial kinetic energy violates the slow-roll approximation.

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