Related papers: The consistency condition for the three-point func…
We explore the effects of heavy degrees of freedom on the evolution and perturbations of light modes in multifield inflation. We use a simple two-field model as an example to illustrate the subtleties of integrating out massive fields in a…
The leading account of several salient observable features of our universe today is provided by the theory of cosmic inflation. But an important and thus far intractable question is whether inflation is generic, or whether it is finely…
We analyse the self-consistency of inflation in the Standard Model, where the Higgs field has a large non-minimal coupling to gravity. We determine the domain of energies in which this model represents a valid effective field theory as a…
We discuss how primordial non-Gaussianity of the curvature perturbation helps to constrain models of the early universe. Observations are consistent with Gaussian initial conditions, compatible with the predictions of the simplest models of…
In this note we present a simple but exact model of quasi-single field inflation \cite{Chen:2009zp, Chen:2009we}, in which the couplings between perturbations are completely controlled, and for instance can be made constant with any desired…
In this paper we investigate the asymptotic dynamics of inflationary cosmological models that are based in scalar-tensor theories of gravity. Our main aim is to explore the global structure of the phase space in the framework of…
The generic prediction for the perturbations generated during slow--roll, single--field inflation, as they appear in the cosmic microwave background (CMB), is a flat, close--to--Gaussian spectrum. We calculate the general solution for a…
We explore the stability properties of multi-field solutions of assisted inflation type, where several fields collectively evolve to the same configuration. In the case of noninteracting fields, we show that the condition for such solutions…
The methods of effective field theory are used to study generic theories of inflation with a single inflaton field and to perform a general analysis of the associated non-Gaussianities. We investigate the amplitudes and shapes of the…
Attention has focussed recently on models of inflation that involve a second or more fields with a mass near the inflationary Hubble parameter $H$, as may occur in supersymmetric theories if the supersymmetry-breaking scale is not far from…
We investigate the measure problem in the framework of inflationary cosmology. The measure of the history space is constructed and applied to inflation models. Using this measure, it is shown that the probability for the generalized single…
We present a general framework where the effective field theory of single field inflation is extended by the inclusion of operators with mass dimension 3 and 4 in the unitary gauge. These higher dimensional operators introduce quartic and…
High-energy physics often motivates multi-field inflationary scenarios where stochastic effects play a crucial role. Peculiar to multi-field models, the noise-induced centrifugal force results in a longer duration of inflation depending on…
In this work we shall investigate the phenomenological implications of the constant-roll condition on a $k$-Inflation theory of gravity. The latter theories are particularly promising, since these remained robust to the results of GW170817,…
Bouncing scenarios offer an alternative to the inflationary paradigm for the generation of perturbations in the early universe. Recently, there has been a surge in interest in examining the issue of primordial magnetogenesis in the context…
We consider supersymmetric inflation with the hybrid-type potential. In the absence of the symmetry that forbids Hubble-induced mass terms, the inflaton mass will be as large as the Hubble scale during inflation. We consider gravitational…
This is a version of the author's Ph.D. thesis. The methods of effective field theory are used to study generic theories of inflation with a single inflaton field and to perform a general analysis of the associated non-Gaussianities. We…
Stochastic effects in multi-field inflationary scenarios are investigated. A hierarchy of diffusion equations is derived, the solutions of which yield moments of the numbers of inflationary $e$-folds. Solving the resulting partial…
It is noted that inflation driven by a three form with arbitrary self coupling satisfies a consistency relation $n_S-1=2n_T$, between spectral indices of scalar and tensor cosmological perturbations. The standard consistency relation for…
The effective equation of motion is derived for a scalar field interacting with other fields in a Friedman-Robertson-Walker background space-time. The dissipative behavior reflected in this effective evolution equation is studied both in…