Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2024/iii/paper-310/4/d/solution

For a canonical scalar field with positive kinetic energy, the Friedmann equation gives
so the first Hubble slow-roll parameter satisfies . The tensor tilt is consequently
A blue primordial spectrum of tensor modes cannot arise in standard canonical single-field slow-roll inflation; it requires changing assumptions, such as the matter content, kinetic structure, initial state, or gravitational dynamics.
The scalar tilt instead obeys
It can be positive in a standard single-field model if , meaning that decreases sufficiently rapidly with the number of e-folds. Equivalently, in potential slow-roll parameters the first-order condition is . Thus a blue scalar spectrum is allowed by the framework, although it is not produced by every slowly rolling potential.

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