Related papers: Strong Coupling Problem with Time-Varying Sound Sp…
In the context of single field inflation, models with a quadratic potential and models with a natural potential with subplanckian decay constant are in tension with the Planck data. We show that, when embedded in a two-field model with an…
We compute the growth of the mean square of quantum fluctuations of test fields with small effective mass during a slowly changing, nearly de Sitter stage which took place in different inflationary models. We consider a minimally coupled…
We consider an inflationary scenario in the holographic braneworld with a cosmological fluid occupying the 3+1 dimensional brane located at the holographic boundary of an asymptotic ADS$_5$ bulk. The contribution of the boundary conformal…
We study a contracting universe composed of cold dark matter and radiation, and with a positive cosmological constant. As is well known from standard cosmological perturbation theory, under the assumption of initial quantum vacuum…
We perform a detailed investigation of the simplest possible cosmological model in which a bounce can occur, namely that where the dynamics is led by a simple massive scalar field in a general self-interacting potential and a background…
We consider the evolution of perturbed cosmological spacetime with multiple scalar fields in Einstein gravity. A complete set of scalar-type perturbation equations is presented in a gauge-ready form, and we derived the closed set of…
If the expansion of the early Universe was not close to de Sitter, the statistical imprints of the primordial density perturbation on the cosmic microwave background can be quite different from those derived in slow-roll inflation. In this…
We explore the three-point amplitude of curvature perturbations in scenarios suggested by high-scale supersymmetry breaking in String Theory, where the inflaton is forced to climb a steep exponential potential. We can do it at the price of…
The universe can be made flat and smooth by undergoing a phase of ultra-slow (ekpyrotic) contraction, a condition achievable with a single, canonical scalar field and conventional general relativity. It has been argued, though, that…
We investigate the effects of large inhomogeneities in both the inflaton field and its momentum. We find that in general, large kinetic perturbations reduce the number of e-folds of inflation. In particular, we observe that inflationary…
We present a gauge-invariant formalism to study the evolution of the curvature and entropy perturbations in the case in which spatial and time variations of the inflaton decay rate into ordinary matter are present. During the reheating…
One of the greatest problems of standard cosmology is the Big Bang singularity. Previously it has been shown that non-local ghostfree higher-derivative modifications of Einstein gravity in the ultra-violet regime can admit non-singular…
We have proposed a new class of inflationary scenarios in which the first stage of expansion is driven by "old" false vacuum inflation. This ends by nucleation of a bubble, which then further inflates. Unlike the standard slow-roll…
We study the effects of sudden change in the sound velocity on primordial curvature perturbation spectrum in inflationary cosmology, assuming that the background evolution satisfies the slow-roll condition throughout. It is found that the…
We study Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) inflation models with multiple scalar fields. We show that the adiabatic and entropy modes propagate with a common effective sound speed and are thus amplified at the sound horizon crossing. In the small…
We present a novel theory of the very early universe which addresses the traditional horizon and flatness problems of big bang cosmology and predicts a scale invariant spectrum of perturbations. Unlike inflation, this scenario requires no…
We consider an alternative to inflation for the generation of superhorizon perturbations in the universe in which the speed of sound is faster than the speed of light. We label such cosmologies, first proposed by Armendariz-Picon, {\it…
The curvaton scenario predicts an almost scale-invariant spectrum of perturbations in most inflation models. We consider the possibility that renormalisable phi^4 or Planck scale-suppressed non-renormalisable curvaton potential terms may…
The ekpyrotic slow contraction or the slow expansion might be responsible for the adiabatical production of the nearly scale invariant curvature perturbation. However, the tensor perturbation generated is generally strongly blue, which…
We discuss some perturbative techniques suitable for the gauge-invariant treatment of the scalar and tensor inhomogeneities of an anisotropic and homogeneous background geometry whose spatial section naturally decomposes into the direct…