Primordial magnetic fields in hybrid inflation

We show that, during hybrid inflation, a primordial magnetic field can be created, sufficiently strong to seed the galactic dynamo and generate the observed galactic magnetic fields. Considering the inflaton dominated regime, our field is produced by the Higgs--field gradients, resulting from a grand unified phase transition. The evolution of the field is followed from its creation through to the epoch of structure formation, subject to the relevant constraints. We find that it is always possible to create a magnetic field of sufficient magnitude, provided the phase transition occurs during the final 15 e-foldings of the inflationary period. the achieved field can be coherent over large distances and, for some parameter space, it is strong enough to dispense with the galactic dynamo.