Related papers: Enhanced Non-Gaussianity from Excited Initial Stat…
The presence of multiple fields during inflation might seed a detectable amount of non-Gaussianity in the curvature perturbations, which in turn becomes observable in present data sets like the cosmic microwave background (CMB) or the large…
We address the joint estimation of changes in the position and linear momentum of a quantum particle or, equivalently, changes in the complex field of a bosonic mode. Although these changes are generated by non-commuting operators, we show…
We study the generation of primordial perturbations in a (single-field) slow-roll inflationary universe. In momentum space, these (Gaussian) perturbations are characterized by a zero mean and a non-zero variance $\Delta^2(k, t)$. However,…
We show that multi-field inflationary models with negligible turning in field space during inflation can lead to an effective sourcing of adiabatic from entropic perturbations {\it after} the end of inflation. We illustrate this general…
In spite of the strong observational evidence suggesting a period of rapid expansion in the early universe, the identity of the inflaton field that drove this expansion remains elusive. Many inflaton candidate particles (both known and…
We study the generation of non-Gaussianity in models of hybrid inflation with two inflaton fields, (2-brid inflation). We analyse the region in the parameter and the initial condition space where a large non-Gaussianity may be generated…
We investigate the circumstances under which cosmic inflation can arise from very inhomogeneous initial conditions using numerical relativity simulations. Previous studies have not considered cases with non-zero momentum density due to…
Noncommutative geometry can provide effective description of physics at very short distances taking into account generic effects of quantum gravity. Inflation amplifies tiny quantum fluctuations in the early universe to macroscopic scales…
We consider a model of inflation consisting a single fluid with a time-dependent equation of state. In this phenomenological picture, two periods of inflation are separated by an intermediate non-inflationary stage which can be either a…
We use Minkowski Functionals to explore the presence of non-Gaussian signatures in simulated cosmic microwave background (CMB) maps. Precisely, we analyse the non-Gaussianities produced from the angular power spectra emerging from a class…
The Bunch-Davies state appears precisely thermal to a free-falling observer in de Sitter space. However, precise thermality is unphysical because it violates energy conservation. Instead, the true spectrum must take a certain different…
We describe a general scenario where primordial non-Gaussian curvature perturbations are generated in models with extra scalar fields. The extra scalars communicate to the inflaton sector mainly through the tachyonic (waterfall) field…
In the presence of a short-distance cutoff, the choice of a vacuum state in an inflating, non-de Sitter universe is unavoidably ambiguous. The ambiguity is related to the time at which initial conditions for the mode functions are specified…
We characterize the post-inflationary evolution of the equation of state of the universe from the end of inflation until the onset of radiation domination, when the inflaton is coupled to a daughter field through a trilinear interaction. We…
The existence of the inflationary era in the early Universe seems to be strongly supported by recent CMB observations. However, only a few realistic inflation scenarios which have close relation to particle physics seem to have been known…
Heavy scalar fields can undergo an instability during inflation as a result of their kinetic couplings with the inflaton. This is known as the geometrical destabilization of inflation, as it relies on the effect of the negative curvature of…
We study the covariance in the angular power spectrum estimates of CMB fluctuations when the primordial fluctuations are non-Gaussian. The non-Gaussian covariance comes from a nonzero connected four-point correlation function -- or the…
We compute the bi-spectrum of CMB temperature fluctuations for a state where the metric perturbation $\zeta$ is entangled with a spectator scalar field $\chi$. Novel terms in the cubic $\zeta$ action coupled to the scalar can be the…
We study the Brownian motion of a field where there are boundaries in the inflationary field space. Both the field and the boundary undergo Brownian motions with the amplitudes of the noises determined by the Hubble expansion rate of the…
We explore a model of the early universe in which the inflationary epoch is preceded by a cosmic bounce, and argue that this scenario provides a common origin to several of the anomalous features that have been observed at large angular…