Inflationary Butterfly Effect: Nonperturbative Dynamics from Small-Scale Features

For the first time, we investigate the nonperturbative dynamics of single field inflation with a departure from slow roll. Using simulations, we find that oscillatory features in the potential can drastically alter the course of inflation, with major phenomenological implications. In certain cases, the entire Universe gets trapped in a forever inflating de Sitter state. In others, only some regions get stuck in a false vacuum, offering an alternative channel for primordial black hole formation. Analogous to the flap of a butterfly, these results show that small-scale phenomena can have profound consequences on the evolution of the entire Universe. More generally, our work shows the power of simulations in the exploration of the small-scale physics of inflation, particularly in the regime relevant for gravitational-wave astronomy.