Twisted Inflation
  We present a new mechanism for slow-roll inflation based on higher
dimensional supersymmetric gauge theory compactified to four dimensions with
twisted (supersymmetry breaking) boundary conditions. These boundary conditions
lead to a potential for directions in field space that would have been flat
were supersymmetry preserved. For field values in these directions much larger
than the supersymmetry-breaking scale, the flatness of the potential is nearly
restored. Starting in this nearly flat region, inflation can occur as the
theory relaxes towards the origin of field space. Near the origin, the
potential becomes steep and the theory quickly descends to a confining gauge
theory in which the inflaton does not exist as a particle. This confining gauge
theory could be part of the Standard Model (QCD) or a natural dark matter
sector; we comment on various scenarios for reheating. As a specific
illustration of this mechanism, we discuss 4+1 dimensional maximally
supersymmetric gauge theory on a circle with antiperiodic boundary conditions
for fermions. When the theory is weakly coupled at the compactification scale,
we calculate the inflaton potential directly in field theory by integrating out
the heavy W-bosons and their superpartners. At strong coupling the model can be
studied using a gravity dual, which realizes a new model of brane inflation on
a non-supersymmetric throat geometry. Assuming there exists a UV completion
that avoids the eta-problem, predictions from our model are consistent with
present observations, and imply a small tensor-to-scalar ratio.
