Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 53 4 Solution 2026-10-07
For the quadratic potential, the e-fold integral above gives . At , the field is . Since at exit and counts down,To leading slow-roll order, . The quadratic-inflation field interval from a wavenumber interval is thereforeThe corresponding field endpoints are approximately and , or to reduced Planck masses. Longer wavelengths exit earlier at the larger field value. Using instead of the supplied rounded logarithmic interval gives a span of about ; retaining changes either estimate by less than one percent. The observable interval samples a small part of the large background field value, rather than the entire excursion to the end of inflation.