We study symmetry-breaking inflation within the framework of metric-affine gravity. By introducing a non-minimal coupling, $\beta(\phi)\tilde{ \cal R}$, between the Holst invariant and the inflaton, both small-field and large-field inflationary predictions can be brought into agreement with the latest observational constraints. Remarkably, even for sub-Planckian vacuum expectation values, appropriately chosen values of $\beta(\phi)$ enable viable inflation, a scenario previously considered unattainable.
Categories: gr-qc astro-ph.CO hep-ph