Related papers: Testing Inflation with Dark Matter Halos
A short introduction to structure formation is given, followed by a discussion of the possible characteristics of the initial perturbations assuming a generic inflationary origin. Observational data related to large-scale structure and the…
The curvaton scenario for the generation of the cosmological curvature perturbation on large scales represents an alternative to the standard slow-roll scenario of inflation in which the observed density perturbations are due to…
We study the effect of primordial non-Gaussianity on the development of large-scale cosmic structure using high-resolution N-body simulations. In particular, we focus on the topological properties of the "cosmic web", quantitatively…
Thermal inflation models (which feature two inflationary stages) can display damped primordial curvature power spectra on small scales which generate damped matter fluctuations. For a reasonable choice of parameters, thermal inflation…
We have studied modulated inflation that generates curvature perturbation from light-field fluctuation. As discussed in previous works, even if the fluctuation of the inflaton itself does not generate the curvature perturbation at the…
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…
The evolution with time of the abundance of galaxy clusters is very sensitive to the statistical properties of the primordial density perturbations. It can thus be used to probe small deviations from Gaussianity in the initial conditions.…
Future measurements of primordial non-Gaussianity can reveal cosmologically produced particles with masses of order the inflationary Hubble scale and their interactions with the inflaton, giving us crucial insights into the structure of…
Primordial non-Gaussianity generated in an inflationary model where inflation is preceded by a radiation era is discussed. It is shown that both bispectrum and trispectrum non-Gaussianities are enhanced due to the presence of…
We present the results of a set of cosmological N-body simulations with standard $\Lambda$CDM cosmology but characterized by a scale-dependent primordial non-Gaussianity of the local type featuring a power-law dependence of the $f_{\rm…
The bispectrum vanishes for linear Gaussian fields and is thus a sensitive probe of non-linearities and non-Gaussianities in the cosmic density field. Hence, a detection of the bispectrum in the halo density field would enable tight…
We study signatures in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) induced by the presence of strong spatial curvature prior to the epoch of inflation which generated our present universe. If inflation does not last sufficiently long to drive the…
The understanding of the primordial mechanism that seeded the cosmic structures we observe today in the sky is one of the major goals in cosmology. The leading paradigm for such a mechanism is provided by the inflationary scenario, a period…
We study the dependence on configuration in momentum space of the primordial 3-point function of density perturbations in several different scenarios: standard slow-roll inflation, curvaton and variable decay models, ghost inflation, models…
Primordial black-hole formation depends exponentially on the far tail of the primordial curvature-perturbation distribution. That sensitivity makes the small-scale collapse problem a sharp probe of primordial non-Gaussianity. We study the…
We study the formation of primordial black holes and the generation of gravitational waves in a class of cosmological models that are direct supersymmetric analogs of the observationally favored nonminimally coupled Higgs inflation model.…
We propose a Lambda-inflation model which explains a significant part of the COBE signal by primordial cosmic gravitational waves. The primordial density perturbations fulfill both the constraints of large-scale microwave background and…
In this thesis, the effect of non-Gaussianity upon the abundance of primordial black holes (PBHs), and the implications of such an effect are considered. It is shown that even small non-Gaussianity parameters can have a large effect on the…
It is widely accepted that the primordial universe experienced a brief period of accelerated expansion called inflation. This scenario provides a plausible solution to the horizon and flatness problems. However, the particle physics…
New Ekpyrotic Cosmology is an alternative scenario of the early universe which relies on a phase of slow contraction before the big bang. We calculate the 3-point and 4-point correlation functions of primordial density perturbations and…