Are single-field models of inflation and PBH production ruled out by ACT observations?

Abstract: The data release from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) imposes stronger constraints on primordial black hole (PBH) formation in single-field inflation models than the Planck data. In particular, the updated Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) measurements favor a higher scalar spectral index $n_s$, a positive running $\alpha_s$, and a smaller slow-roll parameter $\eta$. Even in the absence of PBH production, the updated constraints together place many single-field models under tension with the CMB data. To explore this tension, we study PBH formation in an $\alpha$-attractor E-model. We investigate an impact of bending of the inflaton potential plateau toward reconciling the model with the new bounds for CMB observables. We find that attempts to increase $n_s$ by upward bending lead to negative values of $\alpha_s$ that are disfavored by the new bounds. A possible model-building approach to resolve the tension is proposed.