Related papers: Vector Curvaton with varying Kinetic Function
In the general framework of Metric-Affine theories of gravity, where the metric and the connection are independent variables, we consider actions quadratic in the Ricci scalar curvature and the Holst invariant (the contraction of the…
We study an anisotropic inflation model with a gauge kinetic function for a non-abelian gauge field. We find that, in contrast to abelian models, the anisotropy can be either a prolate or an oblate type, which could lead to a different…
Inflation is an early period of accelerated cosmic expansion, thought to be sourced by high energy physics. A key task today is to use the influx of increasingly precise observational data to constrain the plethora of inflationary models…
We discuss the hybrid inflation model where the inflaton field is nonminimally coupled to gravity. In the Jordan frame, the potential contains $\phi^4$ term as well as terms in the original hybrid inflation model. In our model, inflation…
Heavy isocurvature fields may have a strong influence on the low energy dynamics of curvature perturbations during inflation, as long as the inflationary trajectory becomes non-geodesic in the multi-field target space (the landscape). If…
The Standard Model of particle physics does not explain the origin of the universe's baryon asymmetry or its primordial fluctuations. The Affleck-Dine mechanism is a well-motivated scenario for generating the baryon asymmetry through the…
A spatially uniform vector condensate can be formed during inflation if the vector boson is coupled to the inflaton through nontrivial kinetic function. The coherent oscillation of such a massive vector boson is a dark matter candidate. In…
We discuss the additional perturbation introduced during inflation by quantum stress tensor fluctuations of a conformally invariant field such as the photon. We consider both a kinematical model, which deals only with the expansion…
We study a simple extension of quasi-single field inflation in which the inflaton interacts with multiple extra massive scalars known as isocurvatons. Due to the breaking of time translational invariance by the inflaton background, the…
Here we concisely review the nonminimal coupling dynamics of a single scalar field in the context of purely affine gravity and extend the study to multifield dynamics. The coupling is performed via an affine connection and its associated…
In contrast to the inflaton's case, the curvature perturbations due to the curvaton field depend strongly on the evolution of the curvaton before its decay. We study in detail the dynamics of the curvaton evolution during and after…
We calculate the production of a massive vector boson by quantum fluctuations during inflation. This gives a novel dark-matter production mechanism quite distinct from misalignment or thermal production. While scalars and tensors are…
Models of cosmic inflation suggest that our universe underwent an early phase of accelerated expansion, driven by the dynamics of one or more scalar fields. Inflationary models make specific, quantitative predictions for several observable…
We develop a general formalism for analyzing linear perturbations in multiple-field cosmological inflation based on the gauge-ready approach. Our inflationary model consists of an arbitrary number of scalar fields with non-minimal kinetic…
We study implications of the curvaton, a late-decaying light scalar field, on inflationary cosmology, paying particular attentions to modifications of observable quantities such as the scalar spectral index of the primordial power spectrum…
We investigate the possibility that the primordial perturbation has two sources: the inflaton and a spectator field, which is not dynamically important during inflation but which after inflation can contribute to the curvature perturbation.…
We study the generation of the primordial curvature perturbation in multi-field inflation. Considering both the evolution of the perturbation during inflation and the effects generated at the end of inflation, we present a general formula…
A pseudo-scalar inflaton field can have interesting phenomenological signatures associated with parity violation. The existing analyses of these signatures typically assume statistical isotropy. In the present work we instead investigate…
We compute the covariant three-point function near horizon-crossing for a system of slowly-rolling scalar fields during an inflationary epoch, allowing for an arbitrary field-space metric. We show explicitly how to compute its subsequent…
Inflationary predictions for the power spectrum of the curvature perturbation have been verified to an excellent degree, leaving many models compatible with observations. In this thesis we studied third-order correlations, that might allow…