Examines R² correction's impact on inflation potential, indicating observational viability.
TQNT-V5.14 introduces an R² Starobinsky-like correction to the V5.13 topological-inflation potential that was reported as falsified against Planck/BICEP-Keck. With the R² term, the scalar spectral index is brought to n_s = 0.967 (+0.71σ from Planck central value) and the tensor-to-scalar ratio to r ≈ 3e-3, well within current upper bounds. Honest status: the coefficient a in front of R² is left as a free parameter, calibrated to reproduce the observed scalar amplitude A_s. The derivation of a from the TQNT SU(2)_135 Chern-Simons sector is deferred to V5.15. This paper is therefore presented as a coherence step — V5.13 + R² is observationally viable, but the R² coefficient is not yet derived from first principles within TQNT. Complements the V5 monograph (10.5281/zenodo.19131538) and supersedes V5.13 as the current V5 inflation candidate.
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Lilian Cariou (2026) studied this question.
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