Towards axionic Starobinsky-like inflation in string theory

It is shown that Starobinsky-like potentials can be realized in non-geometric flux compactifications of string theory, where the inflaton involves an axion whose shift symmetry can protect UV-corrections to the scalar potential. For that purpose we evaluate the backreacted, uplifted F-term axion-monodromy potential, which interpolates between a quadratic and a Starobinsky-like form. Limitations due to the requirements of having a controlled approximation of the UV theory and of realizing single-field inflation are discussed. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license.