Related papers: Loop corrections and a new test of inflation
We study primordial perturbations from hyperinflation, proposed recently and based on a hyperbolic field-space. In the previous work, it was shown that the field-space angular momentum supported by the negative curvature modifies the…
If during inflation the inflaton couples to a "fossil" field, some new scalar, vector, or tensor field, it typically induces a scalar-scalar-fossil bispectrum. Even if the fossil field leaves no direct physical trace after inflation, it…
During inflation, there is a preferred reference frame in which the expansion of the background spacetime is spatially isotropic. In contrast to Minkowski spacetime, observables can depend on the velocity of the system with respect to this…
We study multifield contributions to the scalar power spectrum in an ensemble of six-field inflationary models obtained in string theory. We identify examples in which inflation occurs by chance, near an approximate inflection point, and we…
String theory abounds with light scalar fields (the dilaton and various moduli) which create a host of observational problems, and notably some serious cosmological difficulties similar to the ones associated with the Polonyi field in the…
We consider Cosmic Microwave Background constraints on inflation models for which the primordial power spectrum is a mixture of perturbations generated by inflaton fluctuations and fluctuations in a curvaton field. If future experiments do…
The hypothesis that the Universe underwent a period of exponential expansion at very early times has become the most popular theory of the early Universe. Not only does it solve some of the problems of standard big bang cosmology, but it…
The observed power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) is consistent with inflationary cosmology, which predicts a nearly scale-invariant power spectrum of quantum fluctuations of the inflaton field as they exit the Hubble…
We consider the spectrum of primordial fluctuations produced by inflationary models where the inflaton potential is the sum of two exponential terms. A wide range of spectra result, with the only constraint being that the scalar spectrum…
We revisit large field inflation models with modulations in light of the recent discovery of the primordial B-mode polarization by the BICEP2 experiment, which, when combined with the Planck + WP + highL data, gives a strong hint for…
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…
Loop quantum cosmology (LQC) provides promising resolutions to the trans-Planckian issue and initial singularity arising in the inflationary models of general relativity. In general, due to different quantization approaches, LQC involves…
The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe microwave background data suggest that the primordial spectrum of scalar curvature fluctuations is suppressed at small wavenumbers. We propose a UV/IR mixing effect in small-field inflationary models…
The detection of a primordial stochastic gravitational wave background has the potential to reveal unprecedented insights into the early universe, and possibly into the dynamics of inflation. Generically, UV-complete inflationary models…
Attempts at building an unified description of the strong, weak and electromagnetic interactions usually involve several stages of spontaneous symmetry breaking. We consider the effects of such symmetry breaking during an era of primordial…
We calculate the trispectrum T_\zeta of the primordial curvature perturbation \zeta, generated during a {\it slow-roll} inflationary epoch by considering a two-field quadratic model of inflation with {\it canonical} kinetic terms. We…
Current data are in good agreement with the predictions of single field inflation. However, the hemispherical asymmetry seen in the cosmic microwave background data, may hint at a potential problem. Generalizing to multi-field models may…
Loop corrections to observables in slow-roll inflation are found to diverge no worse than powers of the log of the scale factor, extending Weinberg's theorem to quasi-single field inflation models. Demanding perturbation theory be valid…
It is known that the Higgs potential in the Standard Model can drive a successful inflation as long as the Higgs field couples non-minimally to gravity. It is then inevitable to take into account the loop corrections of the Standard Model…
There is an observational indication of extragalactic magnetic fields. No known astrophysical process can explain the origin of such large scale magnetic fields, which motivates us to look for their origin in primordial inflation. By…