Related papers: A Back-reaction Induced Lower Bound on the Tensor-…
We explore the upper bound on the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ in supersymmetric (F-term) hybrid inflation models with the gauge symmetry breaking scale set equal to the value $2.86\cdot10^{16} {\rm GeV}$, as dictated by the unification of…
In standard inflationary cosmology, scalar and tensor perturbations grew as the Universe expanded and froze when their wavelengths exceeded the Hubble horizon, producing a tell-tale signature in the fluctuation spectrum and amplitude of the…
We study the back-reaction of gravitational waves in early universe cosmology, focusing both on super-Hubble and sub-Hubble modes. Sub-Hubble modes lead to an effective energy density which scales as radiation. Hence, the relative…
The inflationary paradigm is an important cornerstone of the concordance cosmological model. However, standard inflation cannot fully address the transition from an early homogeneous and isotropic stage, to another one lacking such…
The recent BICEP2 B-mode polarization determination of an inflationary tensor-scalar ratio $r=0.2^{+0.07}_{-0.05}$ is in tension with simple scale-free models of inflation due to a lack of a corresponding low multipole excess in the…
In this paper, we explore the equivalence between two theories, namely f(R) and scalar-tensor theories of gravity. We use this equivalence to explore several f(R) toy models focusing on the inflation epoch of the early universe. The study…
It is sometimes argued that observation of tensor modes from inflation would provide the first evidence for quantum gravity. However, in the usual inflationary formalism, also the scalar modes involve quantised metric perturbations. We…
Scalar induced gravitational waves contribute to the cosmological gravitational wave background. They can be related to the primordial density power spectrum produced towards the end of inflation and therefore are a convenient new tool to…
The effect of the initial conditions in inflation on scalar and tensor perturbations is investigated. Formulae for the power spectra of gravitational waves and curvature perturbations for any initial conditions in inflation are derived, and…
We investigate the possible implications of the measured value of the scalar tilt $n_s$ for the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ in slow-roll, single-field inflationary models. The measured value of the tilt satisfies $n_s -1\sim 1/N_*$, where…
A study of the slow-roll inflation for an exponential potential in the frame of the scalar-tensor theory is performed, where non-minimal kinetic coupling to curvature and non-minimal coupling of the scalar field to the Gauss-Bonnet…
We present limits on the fraction of large angle microwave anisotropies which could come from tensor perturbations. We use the COBE results as well as smaller scale CMB observations, measurements of galaxy correlations, abundances of galaxy…
We eliminate the parameters originally present in models of inflation of the $\alpha$-attractor type in favor of the scalar spectral index $n_s$ and the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$. We then write expressions for the number of $e$-folds…
We calculate the scalar power spectrum generated by sourced fluctuations due to coupling between the scalar field, which holds most of the energy density of the universe, and a gauge field for a general FLRW metric. For this purpose we…
We determine the frequency of regions of small-field inflation in the Wigner landscape as an approximation to random supergravities/type IIB flux compactifications. We show that small-field inflation occurs exponentially more often than…
In this work we construct a bottom-up reconstruction technique for Loop Quantum Cosmology scalar-tensor theories, from the observational indices. Particularly, the reconstruction technique is based on fixing the functional form of the…
The corrections to the cosmological models induced by non-minimal coupling between scalar field and torsion are considered. To determine these corrections in explicit form, the power-law parametrization of these corrections are proposed.…
In single-field, slow-roll inflationary models, scalar and tensorial (Gaussian) perturbations are both characterized by a zero mean and a non-zero variance. In position space, the corresponding variance of those fields diverges in the…
We calculate the back-reaction of long wavelength cosmological perturbations on a general relativistic measure of the local expansion rate of the Universe. Specifically, we consider a cosmological model in which matter is described by two…
Detailed study of the scalar and tensor perturbation spectra can provide much information about the primordial fluctuation-generator, be it inflation or something else. The tensor perturbation spectrum may be observable through its…