In this paper we consider a unique model of inflation where the universe undergoes rapid asymmetric oscillations, each cycle lasting $\sim {10}^6$ Planck times. Over many, many cycles the space-time expands to mimic the standard inflationary scenario. Moreover, these rapid oscillations leave a distinctive periodic signature in $\ln k$ in the primordial power spectrum, where $k$ denotes the comoving scale. Although the cyclic-inflation model contains additional parameters as compared to the standard power-law spectrum, the improvement to the fit of the 7-year WMAP data is significant.

• Received 13 May 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.82.123517