Related papers: A Meandering Inflaton
High-scale string inflationary models are in well-known tension with low-energy supersymmetry. A promising solution involves models where the inflaton is the volume of the extra dimensions so that the gravitino mass relaxes from large…
After 25 years of its existence, inflationary theory gradually becomes the standard cosmological paradigm. However, we still do not know which of the many versions of inflationary cosmology will be favored by the future observational data.…
We examine the conditions under which a perturbative expansion around an inflating background is valid. When inflation is driven by a single field with a general sound speed, we find a lower limit on the sound speed related to the amplitude…
We study a generality of an inflationary scenario by integrating the Einstein equations numerically in a plane-symmetric spacetime. We consider the inhomogeneous spacetimes due to (i) localized gravitational waves with a positive…
The BICEP2 observations, if confirmed, point to a high scale of inflation and large field excursions during the inflationary era. Non-compact string moduli spaces are a suggestive setting for these phenomena. While unlikely to be described…
We show how observations of the density perturbation (scalar) spectrum and the gravitational wave (tensor) spectrum allow a reconstruction of the potential responsible for cosmological inflation. A complete functional reconstruction or a…
Within supersymmetry we provide an example where the inflaton sector is derived from a gauge invariant polynomial of SU(N) or SO(N) gauge theory. Inflation in our model is driven by multi-flat directions, which assist accelerated expansion.…
Observations of the cosmic microwave sky are revealing the primordial non-uniformities from which all structure in the Universe grew. The only known physical mechanism for generating the inhomogeneities we see involves the amplification of…
Recent BICEP2 detection of low-multipole B-mode polarization anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background radiation supports the inflationary universe scenario and suggests a large inflaton field range. The latter feature can be achieved…
We clarify under what conditions slow-roll inflation can continue almost undisturbed, while briefly evolving through a (semi-classically) metastable false vacuum. Furthermore, we look at potential signatures in the primordial power spectrum…
For suitable cosmological backgrounds, thermal fluctuations of a gas of strings can generate a scale-invariant spectrum of cosmological fluctuations without requiring a phase of inflationary expansion. We highlight the key points of this…
In the context of string theory, several conjectural conditions have been proposed for low energy effective field theories not to be in swampland, the UV-incomplete class. The recent ones represented by the de Sitter and trans-Planckian…
A model of nonlinear electrodynamics with a dimensional parameter $\beta$ is considered. Electromagnetic fields are the source of the gravitation field and inflation of the universe. We imply that the universe is filled by stochastic…
We consider the linear perturbations for the single scalar field inflation model interacting with an additional triad of scalar fields. The background solutions of the three additional scalar fields depend on spatial coordinates with a…
We investigate the nucleation of circular cosmic strings in models of generalized inflationary universes with an accelerating scale factor. We consider toy cosmological models of a smooth inflationary exit and transition into a flat…
Inflationary string cosmology backgrounds can amplify perturbations in a more efficient way than conventional inflationary backgrounds, because the perturbation amplitude may grow - instead of being constant - outside the horizon. If not…
In this thesis we will primarily demonstrate how additional scalar degrees of freedom - which are motivated from many high-energy embeddings - open up new observational windows onto the physics of inflation. We construct a Bayesian…
We investigate the initiation of cosmic inflation, in full numerical relativity, from pre-inflationary scenarios with large tensor and vector fluctuations in the metric. These settings are characterized by having large values in the Weyl…
We derive the scalar potential in four spacetime dimensions from an eight-dimensional $(R+\gamma R^4-2\Lambda-F_4^2)$ gravity model in the presence of the 4-form $F_4$, with the (modified gravity) coupling constant $\gamma$ and the…
The viability of a given model for inflation is determined not only by the form of the inflaton potential, but also by the initial inflaton field configuration. In many models, field configurations which are otherwise well-motivated…