Related papers: Advances in Inflation in String Theory
It is shown that Starobinsky-like potentials can be realized in non-geometric flux compactifications of string theory, where the inflaton involves an axion whose shift symmetry can protect UV-corrections to the scalar potential. For that…
These lectures cover the theoretical structure and phenomenology of some basic mechanisms for inflation. A full treatment of the problem requires `ultraviolet completion' because of the sensitivity of inflation to quantum gravity effects,…
We review applications of string theory to cosmology, from primordial times to the present-day accelerated expansion. Starting with a brief overview of cosmology and string compactifications, we discuss in detail moduli stabilisation,…
In the present work we discuss cosmic strings in natural inflation. Our analysis is based entirely on the CMB quadrupole temperature anisotropy and on the existing upper bound on the cosmic string tension. Our results show that the allowed…
An appealing explanation for the Planck data is provided by inflationary models with a singular non-canonical kinetic term: a Laurent expansion of the kinetic function translates into a potential with a nearly shift-symmetric plateau in…
We present a scenario where brane inflation arises more generically. We start with D3 and anti-D3-branes at the infrared ends of two different throats. This setup is a natural consequence of the assumption that in the beginning we have a…
The decay constant of the QCD axion is required by observation to be small compared to the Planck scale. In theories of "natural inflation," and certain proposed anthropic solutions of the cosmological constant problem, it would be…
I elaborate on a link between the string--scale breaking of supersymmetry that occurs in a class of superstring models and the onset of inflation. The link rests on spatially flat cosmologies supported by a scalar field driven by an…
We consider cosmological inflation driven by the rolling tachyon in the context of the braneworld scenario. We show that sufficient inflation consistent with the observational constraints can be achieved for well defined upper limits on the…
We briefly discuss constraints on supersymmetric hybrid inflation models and examine the consistency of brane inflation models. We then address the implications for inflationary scenarios resulting from the strong constraints on the cosmic…
We consider the possibility of realizing inflation in nonlocal field theories containing infinitely many derivatives. Such constructions arise naturally in string field theory and also in a number of toy models, such as the p-adic string.…
We analyse the multifield behaviour in D-brane inflation when contributions from the bulk are taken into account. For this purpose, we study a large number of realisations of the potential; we find the nature of the inflationary trajectory…
We study the primordial non-Gaussinity predicted from simple models of inflation with a linear potential and superimposed oscillations. This generic form of the potential is predicted by the axion monodromy inflation model, that has…
Recent models of axion monodromy inflation in string theory link the inflationary potential and the moduli stabilization potential. Realistic inflationary models require mechanisms to moderately suppress the inflaton mass with respect to…
The distance between BPS branes in string theory corresponds to a flat direction in the effective potential. Small deviations from supersymmetry may lead to a small uplifting of this flat direction and to brane inflation. However, this…
We study inflation and reheating in a brane world model derived from Type IIA string theory. This particular setup is based on a model of string mediated supersymmetry breaking. The inflaton is one of the transverse scalars of a D4-brane…
We propose a new field theory mechanism for generating an effective trans-Planckian decay constant from sub-Planckian ones. Using the minimal two axions and a hierarchy between two axion decay constants is sufficient for realizing inflation…
Inflationary models within string theory exhibit unusual scalar field dynamics involving non-minimal kinetic terms and generically referred to as k-inflation. In this situation, the standard slow-roll approach used to determine the behavior…
The recent discovery of B-mode polarizations in the CMB by the BICEP2 collaboration motivates the study of large-field inflation models which can naturally lead to significant tensor-to-scalar ratios. A class of such models in string theory…
The first part of this thesis is a general introduction to the bosonic and fermionic string theory, to the concept of D brane and to string dualities. A discussion of anomalies cancellation closes the chapter. The second part of the thesis…