Preheating
= Preheating
Nonperturbative particle production after <cosmic inflation>, for example by <parametric resonance> caused by an oscillating <inflaton>. Large occupation numbers can grow before a thermal bath exists. Backreaction, rescattering and subsequent thermalization affect the outcome, so an effective perturbative decay rate need not describe every stage.<Towards the Theory of Reheating After Inflation by Lev Kofman and others>[Abstract and Introduction]{ref}