Related papers: Fourth level MSSM inflation from new flat directio…
We consider inflation in a universe with a positive cosmological constant and a nonminimally coupled scalar field, in which the field couples both quadratically and quartically to the Ricci scalar. When considered in the Einstein frame and…
Scalar-induced gravitational waves (SIGWs) provide a powerful probe of inflationary dynamics on scales far smaller than those accessible to the cosmic microwave background and large-scale structure. In scenarios with a transient…
Simple monomial inflationary scenarios have been ruled out by recent observations. In this work we revisit the next simplest scenario, a single--field model where the scalar potential is a polynomial of degree four which features a concave…
We use cosmic microwave background (CMB) data from the 9-year WMAP release to derive constraints on monodromy inflation, which is characterized by a linear inflaton potential with a periodic modulation. We identify two possible periodic…
A scale-invariant universe can have a period of accelerated expansion at early times: inflation. We use a frame-invariant approach to calculate inflationary observables in a scale invariant theory of gravity involving two scalar fields -…
This work explores the possibility of inflation in a scale-symmetric extension of the Standard Model Higgs sector, where the Higgs field $\phi_1$ is coupled to a singlet scalar, the dilaton $\phi_0$. The two-scalar theory is formulated…
We investigate a scale-invariant $B-L$ scenario where the Standard Model (SM) is supplemented with a dark scalar $\phi$ which has gauge \& Yukawa interactions, with the couplings $g_{BL}$ and $y$, respectively, leading to radiative plateau…
We study the cosmology of a recent model of supersymmetry breaking, in the presence of a tuneable positive cosmological constant, based on a gauged shift symmetry of a string modulus that can be identified with the string dilaton. The…
We investigate inflation models governed by the Siegel modular group $Sp(4,\mathbb{Z})$. The $Sp(4,\mathbb{Z})$ group extends the $SL(2,\mathbb{Z})$ framework from one modulus to three moduli while preserving the hyperbolic geometry of the…
In a recent letter by H. Davoudiasl, R. Kitano, T. Li and H. Murayama ``The new Minimal Standard Model'' (NMSM) was constructed that incorporates new physics beyond the Minimal Standard Model (MSM) of particle physics. The authors follow…
We make a more general determination of the inflationary observables in the standard 4-D and 5-D single-field inflationary scenarios, by the exact reconstruction of the dynamics of the inflation potential during the observable inflation…
This thesis presents a possible inflation scenario as a consequence of non-minimal gravitational couplings in the Conformal Standard Model. That model consists, in comparison to the SM, of additional right-chiral neutrinos and a complex…
The concept of Higgs inflation can be elegantly incorporated in the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM). A linear combination of the two Higgs-doublet fields plays the role of the inflaton which is non-minimally coupled to…
If cosmic inflation was driven by an electrically neutral scalar field stable on cosmological time scales, the field necessarily constitutes all or part of dark matter (DM). We study this possibility in a scenario where the inflaton field…
A {\it gauge invariant} combination of LLe {\it sleptons} within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model is one of the few inflaton candidates that can naturally explain population of the observable sector and creation of matter after…
We present a successful inflation model based on $\lambda \phi^4$ potential in which a Standard Model (SM) singlet inflaton $\phi$, with mass of around a TeV or less, also plays the role of a weakly interacting scalar dark matter particle…
The three-year data from WMAP are in stunning agreement with the simplest possible quadratic potential for chaotic inflation, as well as with new or symmetry-breaking inflation. We investigate the possibilities for incorporating these…
The new three year WMAP data seem to confirm the presence of non-standard large scale features in the Cosmic Microwave Anisotropies power spectrum. While these features may hint at uncorrected experimental systematics, it is also possible…
We develop a supersymmetric bi-axion model of high-scale inflation coupled to supergravity, in which the axionic structure originates from, and is protected by, gauge symmetry in an extra dimension. While local supersymmetry (SUSY) is…
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…