Particle Physics Models of Inflation and the Cosmological Density Perturbation

This is a review of models of inflation, and their predictions for the primordial curvature perturbation that is thought to be the origin of structure in the Universe. The spectral index $n$, specifying the scale-dependence of the spectrum of the curvature perturbation, will be a powerful discriminator between models, when it is measure with accuracy $\Delta n\sim 0.01$. The usual formula for $n$ is derived, as well as its less familiar extension to the case of a multi-component inflaton; in both cases the key ingredient is the separate evolution of causally disconnected regions of the Universe. Primordial gravitational waves will be an even more powerful discriminator if they are observed, since most models of inflation predict that they are completely negligible. We focus on the new wave of models, which are firmly rooted in modern particle theory and have supersymmetry as a crucial ingredient. The essential particle theory background is summarized, first at an elementary level and later at a more advanced one. The review is addressed to both astrophysicists and particle physicists, and each section is fairly homogeneous regarding the assumed background knowledge.