The effective field theory (EFT) of preheating with scalar fields implies three types of derivative couplings between the inflaton and the reheating field. Two of these couplings lead to scales below which only one of the two species appear as the low energy modes. In this paper, the variety of low energy regimes in terms of the species they accommodate are explored by studying the scales introduced by the derivative couplings and the dispersion relations they lead to. It is noted that the EFT of two scalar fields can give rise to nontrivial sound speed for both the inflation and reheating sector, even at scales where the modes of both species propagate freely, suggesting the presence of additional heavy fields. The regimes where one of the species affects the dispersion relation of the other while not appearing as an effective mode itself are named as “hidden regimes” during preheating.

• Received 30 September 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.100.043503