Related papers: Enhanced Non-Gaussianity from Excited Initial Stat…
We compute the primordial trispectrum for curvature perturbations produced during cosmic inflation in models with standard kinetic terms, when the initial quantum state is not necessarily the vacuum state. The presence of initial…
We show that there are inflationary models for which perturbations in the energy momentum tensor, which are of second order in the scalar field, cannot be neglected. We first specify the conditions under which the usual first order…
We demonstrate that in some regions of parameter space, modified dispersion relations can lead to highly populated excited states, which we dub as "super-excited" states. In order to prepare such super-excited states, we invoke dispersion…
In this paper we derive a generic expression, which is valid for scales larger than Hubble radius and contains only the local terms, for the second order curvature perturbations for more than one field, provided the expansion is sourced by…
We explore the three-point amplitude of curvature perturbations in scenarios suggested by high-scale supersymmetry breaking in String Theory, where the inflaton is forced to climb a steep exponential potential. We can do it at the price of…
We consider the effects of entanglement in the initial quantum state of scalar and tensor fluctuations during inflation. We allow the gauge-invariant scalar and tensor fluctuations to be entangled in the initial state and compute…
The simplest single-field inflation models capture all the relevant contributions to the patterns in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) observed today. A key assumption in these models is that the quantum inflationary fluctuations that…
We discuss a new scenario for early cosmology when the inflationary de Sitter phase emerges dynamically. This genuine quantum effect occurs as a result of dynamics of the topologically nontrivial sectors in a strongly coupled QCD- like…
We explore the effects of heavy degrees of freedom on the evolution and perturbations of light modes in multifield inflation. We use a simple two-field model as an example to illustrate the subtleties of integrating out massive fields in a…
We generalize the Effective Field Theory of Inflation to include additional light scalar degrees of freedom that are in their vacuum at the time the modes of interest are crossing the horizon. In order to make the scalars light in a natural…
We consider a general initial state for inflation as the mechanism for generating scale-dependent hemispherical asymmetry. An observable scale-dependent non-Gaussianity is generated that leads to observable hemispherical asymmetry from the…
Realistic models of high-energy physics include multiple scalar fields. Renormalization requires that the fields have nonminimal couplings to the spacetime Ricci curvature scalar, and the couplings can be large at the energy scales of…
Multiple fields can become dynamical during the inflationary epoch. We consider an example where a light field acquires isocurvature fluctuations during inflation and contributes to the dark matter abundance at late times. Interactions…
We discuss a new mechanism to enhance the spectrum of primordial tensor fluctuations in single field inflationary scenarios. The enhancement relies on a transitory non-attractor inflationary phase, which amplifies the would-be decaying…
We consider contributions to non-Gaussianity of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) from remnants of post-inflationary phase transitions in the very early universe. Such signatures can optimistically be used to discover evidence of new…
We propose an inflationary scenario inspired by a recent formulation, in terms of coherent states, of non-commutative quantum field theory. We consider the semiclassical Einstein equations, and we exploit the ultraviolet finiteness of the…
Particle production and its effects on the inflaton field are investigated during the preheating phase of chaotic inflation using a model consisting of a massive scalar inflaton field coupled to N massless quantum scalar fields. The effects…
In quasi-single field inflation models, massive isocurvature modes, that are coupled to the inflaton and have mass of order the Hubble parameter, can have nontrivial impacts on density perturbations, especially non-Gaussianities. We study a…
We investigate primordial magnetogenesis by assuming the gauge field is prepared in a thermal state during inflation rather than the standard Bunch-Davies vacuum. The temperature $\mathcal{T}$ introduces a physical scale that breaks…
Recent studies of inflation with multiple scalar fields have highlighted the importance of non-canonical kinetic terms in novel types of inflationary solutions. This motivates a thorough analysis of non-Gaussianities in this context, which…