Related papers: A Back-reaction Induced Lower Bound on the Tensor-…
Within an expansion in slow-roll inflation parameters, we derive the complete second-order expressions relating the ratio of tensor to scalar density perturbations and the spectral index of the scalar spectrum. We find that ``corrections''…
The presence of cosmological perturbations affects the background metric and matter configuration in which the perturbations propagate. This effect, studied a long time ago for gravitational waves, also is operational for scalar…
Because of the non-linearity of the Einstein equations, the cosmological fluctuations which are generated during inflation on a wide range of wavelengths do not evolve independently. In particular, to second order in perturbation theory,…
The detection of primordial gravitational waves, or tensor perturbations, would be regarded as compelling evidence for inflation. The canonical measure of this is the ratio of tensor to scalar perturbations, r. For single-field slow-roll…
We explain why it is so difficult and perhaps even impossible to increase the cosmological tensor-to-scalar perturbation ratio during the post-inflationary evolution of the universe. Nevertheless, contrary to some recent claims, tensor…
We demonstrate that the strict upper bounds on the energy scale of inflation and on the tensor-to-scalar ratio can be somewhat relaxed if we assume that - after an initial period of slow rolling when scales probed today in CMB experiments…
Popular wisdom suggests that measuring the tensor to scalar ratio $r$ on CMB scales is a "proof of inflation" since one generic prediction is a scale-invariant tensor spectrum while alternatives predict $r$ that is many orders of magnitude…
It has recently been shown that a Hagedorn phase of string gas cosmology can provide a causal mechanism for generating a nearly scale-invariant spectrum of scalar metric fluctuations, without the need for an intervening period of de Sitter…
Tensor modes in the cosmic microwave background are one of the most robust signatures of inflation. We derive theoretical bounds on the tensor fraction, as a generalization of the well-known Lyth bound. Under reasonable assumptions, the new…
Observations of the cosmic microwave background do not yet determine whether inflation was driven by a slowly-rolling scalar field or involved another physical mechanism. In this paper we discuss the prospects of using the power spectra of…
For the inflaton perturbations it is shown that the evolution of the difference between the spectral indices can be translated into information on the scale dependence of the tensor to scalar amplitudes ratio, $r$, and how the scalar field…
We consider the stochastic gravitational wave background induced by arbitrary source fields that are amplified during cosmological inflation. The associated tensor spectral index is shown to be given, under minimal assumptions, by a simple…
We reconsider the predictions of inflation for the spectral index of scalar (energy density) fluctuations (n_s) and the tensor/scalar ratio (r) using a discrete, model-independent measure of the degree of fine-tuning required to obtain a…
A scalar potential obtained from the $D$-term in the Supergravity models, which dominates over $F$ term and is mainly responsible for the inflationary phase in the early universe, is studied. The potential with canonical kinetic terms for…
Quantum gravitational back-reaction offers a simultaneous explanation for why the cosmological constant is so small and a natural model of inflation in which scalars play no role. In this talk I review previous work and present a simple…
Starting with the Lagrangian formulation of General Relativity, we will conduct an investigation into the production of spacetime waves, due to a geometric boundary term of a closed extended manifold, within the tensor and scalar sectors.…
We show how observations of the density perturbation (scalar) spectrum and the gravitational wave (tensor) spectrum allow a reconstruction of the potential responsible for cosmological inflation. A complete functional reconstruction or a…
We investigate the scalar perturbation of the inflation model driven by a massive-scalar field in Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld gravity. We focus on the perturbation at the attractor stage in which the first and the second slow-roll…
The back reaction of gravitational perturbations in a homogeneous background is determined by an effective energy-momentum tensor quadratic in the perturbations. We show that this nonlinear feedback effect is important in the case of long…
If a sizeable tensor-to-scalar ratio ~0.1 turns out to be detected and a negative running of the scalar spectral index ~0.01 is significantly required by the data, the vast majority of single field models of inflation will be ruled out. We…