The Scale Factor Potential Approach to Inflation
  We propose a new approach to investigate inflation in a model-independent
way, and in particular to elaborate the involved observables, through the
introduction of the "scale factor potential". Through its use one can
immediately determine the inflation end, which corresponds to its first (and
global) minimum. Additionally, we express the inflationary observables in terms
of its logarithm, using as independent variable the e-folding number. As an
example, we construct a new class of scalar potentials that can lead to the
desired spectral index and tensor-to-scalar ratio, namely $n_s \approx 0.965$
and $r \sim 10^{-4}$ for 60 $e$-folds, in agreement with observations.
