Related papers: Is a step in the primordial spectral index favored…
A model is developed in which the inflaton potential experiences a sudden small change in its second derivative (the effective mass of the inflaton). An exact treatment demonstrates that the resulting density perturbation has a quasi-flat…
We argue that a large negative running spectral index, if confirmed, might suggest that there are abundant structures in the inflaton potential, which result in a fairly large (both positive and negative) running of the spectral index at…
Recent analysis of the WMAP and Planck data have shown the presence of a dip and a bump in the spectrum of primordial perturbations at the scales $k=0.002$ Mpc${}^{-1}$ and $k=0.0035$ Mpc${}^{-1}$ respectively. We analyze for the first time…
The new three year WMAP data seem to confirm the presence of non-standard large scale features in the Cosmic Microwave Anisotropies power spectrum. While these features may hint at uncorrected experimental systematics, it is also possible…
The first year of observations by the Planck satellite mission shows that the cosmic microwave background (CMB) fluctuations are consistent with gaussian statistics in the primordial perturbations, a key prediction of the simplest models of…
We study the effects of a class of features of the potential of slow-roll inflationary models corresponding to a step symmetrically dumped by an even power negative exponential factor, which we call local features. Local-type features…
We compare the effects of local features (LF) and branch features (BF) of the inflaton potential on the spectrum of primordial perturbations. We show that LF affect the spectrum in a narrow range of scales while BF produce a step between…
In this work, we analyze a power-law inflationary potential enhanced with a step that can introduce features in the primordial power spectrum. We focus on the computation of the Spectral Distortions (SD) induced by these features obtained…
Recent ACT measurements favor a scalar spectral index n_s larger than the Planck value, posing a challenge to many single-field slow-roll inflation models. We show that a smooth, localized step in the inflaton potential can shift the…
We show that if the inflaton effective potential has multiple discontinuous points in its first derivative, the spectrum of primordial perturbation will be multiple step-like. We give a general analysis by applying a simple model. In…
We analyze the weak (2 sigma) evidence for a running spectral index seen in the three-year WMAP dataset and its implications for single field, slow roll inflation. We assume that the running is comparable to the central value found from the…
We investigate the possibility that fields coupled to the inflaton can influence the primordial spectrum of density perturbations through their coherent motion. For example, the second field in hybrid inflation might be oscillating at the…
The next generation of cosmic microwave background, gravitational wave, and large scale structure, experiments will provide an unprecedented opportunity to probe the primordial power spectrum on small scales. An exciting possibility for…
We extend and improve the modeling and analysis of large-amplitude, sharp inflationary steps for second order corrections required by the precision of the Planck CMB power spectrum and for arbitrary Dirac-Born-Infeld sound speed. With two…
We investigate inflationary scenarios driven by a class of potentials which are similar in form to those that arise in certain minimal supersymmetric extensions of the standard model. We find that these potentials allow a brief period of…
We revisit large field inflation models with modulations in light of the recent discovery of the primordial B-mode polarization by the BICEP2 experiment, which, when combined with the Planck + WP + highL data, gives a strong hint for…
We use a numerical code to compute the density perturbations generated during an inflationary epoch which includes a spontaneous symmetry breaking phase transition. A sharp step in the inflaton potential generates $k$ dependent oscillations…
Certain oscillatory features in the primordial scalar power spectrum are known to provide a better fit to the outliers in the cosmic microwave background data near the multipole moments of $\ell=22$ and 40. These features are usually…
In the light of the recent Boomerang and Maxima observations of the CMB which show an anomalously low second acoustic peak, we reexamine the prediction by Adams et al (1997) that this would be the consequence of a 'step' in the primordial…
Inflection point inflation generically includes a deviation from slow-roll when the inflaton approaches the inflection point. Such deviations are shown to be generated by transitions between singular trajectories. The effects on the power…