We consider the role of supersymmetric flat directions in reheating the
Universe after inflation. One or more flat directions can develop large vevs
during inflation, which can potentially affect reheating by slowing down
scattering processes among inflaton decay products or by coming to dominate the
energy density of the Universe. Both effects occur only if flat directions are
sufficiently long-lived. The computation of their perturbative decay rate, and
a simple estimate of their nonperturbative decay have led to the conclusion
that this is indeed the case. In contrast, we show that flat directions can
decay quickly through nonperturbative channels in realistic models. The mass
matrix for MSSM excitations around flat directions has nondiagonal entries,
which vary with the phase of the (complex) flat directions. The quasi-periodic
motion of the flat directions results in a strong parametric resonance, leading
to the rapid depletion of the flat direction within its first few rotations.
This may preclude any significant role for the flat directions in reheating the
Universe after inflation in models in which the inflaton decays perturbatively.Comment: 30 pages, 6 .ps figures. Final published versio