The methods of effective field theory are used to study generic theories of inflation with a single inflaton field. For scalar modes, the leading corrections to the $\mathcal{R}$ correlation function are found to be purely of the $k$-inflation type. For tensor modes the leading corrections to the correlation function arise from terms in the action that are quadratic in the curvature, including a parity-violating term that makes the propagation of these modes depend on their helicity. These methods are also briefly applied to nongeneric theories of inflation with an extra shift symmetry, as in so-called ghost inflation.

• Received 15 May 2008

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.77.123541