D-Brane Inflation on Conifolds

We describe a model of D--brane inflation on fractional D3 branes transverse to a resolved and deformed conifold. The resolution and the deformation are both necessary for inflation. The fractional branes slowly approach each other along the $S^3$ and separate along the $S^2$ in the base of the conifold. We show that on the brane this corresponds to hybrid inflation. We describe the model also in terms of intersecting branes.