Precision predictions of Starobinsky inflation with self-consistent Weyl-squared corrections

Abstract: Starobinsky's $R+\alpha R^2$ inflation provides a compelling one-parameter inflationary model that is supported by current cosmological observations. However, at the same order in spacetime derivatives as the $R^2$ term, an effective theory of spacetime geometry must also include the Weyl-squared curvature invariant $W^2$. In this paper, we study the inflationary predictions of the gravitational theory with action of the form $R+\alpha R^2 - \beta W^2$, where the coupling constant $\alpha$ sets the scale of inflation, and corrections due to the $W^2$ term are treated self-consistently via reduction of order in an expansion in the coupling constant $\beta$, at the linear order in $\beta/\alpha$. Cosmological perturbations are found to be described by an effective action with a non-trivial speed of sound $c_{\textrm{s}}$ for scalar and $c_{\textrm{t}}$ for tensor modes, satisfying the relation $c_{\textrm{t}}/c_{\textrm{s}} \simeq 1+ \frac{\beta}{6\, \alpha}$ during the inflationary phase. Within this self-consistent framework, we compute several primordial observables up to the next-to-next-to-next-to leading order (N3LO). We find the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r \simeq 3(1-\frac{\beta}{6\alpha})(n_\textrm{s}-1)^2$, the tensor tilt $n_{\textrm{t}}\simeq-\frac{r}{8}$ and the running of the scalar tilt $\mathfrak{a}{\textrm{s}}\simeq-\frac{1}{2} (n{\textrm{s}} - 1)^2$, all expressed in terms of the observed scalar tilt $n_{\textrm{s}}$. We also provide the corresponding corrections up to N3LO, $\mathcal{O}((n_{\textrm{s}} - 1)^3)$.