Global portraits of nonminimal inflation

Abstract

Abstract We reconsider the dynamical systems approach to analyze inflationary universe in the Jordan frame models of scalar field nonminimally coupled to curvature. The adopted set of variables allows us to clearly distinguish between different asymptotic states in the phase space, including the kinetic and inflationary regimes. Inflation is realized as a heteroclinic trajectory originating either at infinity from a nonhyperbolic asymptotic de Sitter point or from a regular saddle de Sitter point. We also present a comprehensive picture of possible initial conditions leading to sufficient inflationary expansion and show their extent on the phase diagrams. In addition we comment on the slow roll conditions applicable in the Jordan frame and show how they approximate the leading inflationary “attractor solution”. As particular examples we portrait quadratic and quartic potential models and note that increasing the nonminimal coupling diminishes the range of good initial conditions in the quadratic case, but enlarges is in the quartic case.