The initial field values are , approximately , and for the three powers. A simple monomial inflation potential over this super-Planckian field range needs theoretical protection. Generic Planck-suppressed corrections to inflaton potentials, such as , need not be small there; they can change the slope and curvature and spoil slow-roll inflation. Radiative corrections and possible couplings to other particles likewise require control. A symmetry, such as an approximate scalar-field shift symmetry, or a specified ultraviolet completion could supply that protection, but it is not part of the bare monomial model.
A large field value is not by itself a proof that the energy density is Planckian: a sufficiently small can keep . The issue is control of the effective field theory and stability of the flat potential over its field range, rather than simply comparing the field value with a mass scale.
There is also a global potential issue for : continued over all real is unbounded below and has no stable minimum at zero. Restricting to does not specify what happens when the field reaches that boundary, so a completion is needed for post-inflationary evolution and reheating. The even powers have a stable minimum but still need interactions that transfer the inflaton energy to a hot bath. These interactions and the resulting reheating history also affect the mapping between a pivot scale and the assumed 60 number of e-folds. Therefore the concise theoretical concerns are control of large-field corrections, a consistent stable completion, and a specified reheating mechanism.