Enhancing the tensor-to-scalar ratio in simple inflation

We show that in theories with a nontrivial kinetic term the contribution of the gravitational waves to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) fluctuations can be substantially larger than that naively expected from simple inflationary models. This increase of the tensor-to-scalar perturbation ratio leads to a larger B mode component of the CMB polarization, thus making the prospects for future detection much more promising. The other important consequence of the model considered is a higher energy scale of inflation and hence higher reheating temperature compared to a simple inflation case.