Related papers: Euclidean quantum gravity and stochastic inflation
A new Lagrangian framework has recently been proposed to describe interactions between relativistic perfect fluids and scalar fields. In this paper we investigate the Einstein static universe in this new class of theories, which have been…
We present a first analysis of a nonperturbative approach to quantum gravity based on a representation of quantum field theory in terms of stochastic processes. The stochastic description accommodates a physical Lorentz-invariant…
We here explore a specific class of scalar field, dubbed quasi-quintessence which exhibits characteristics akin to ordinary matter. Specifically, we investigate under which conditions this fluid can mitigate the classical cosmological…
We study a class of early universe cosmological models based on Einstein-Cartan gravity and including a higher derivative term corresponding to a power of the Holst scalar curvature. The resulting effective action is basically given by…
Since the standard inflationary paradigm is based on quantum field theory on classical space-times, it excludes the Planck era. Using techniques from loop quantum gravity, the paradigm is extended to a self-consistent theory from the Planck…
This thesis is dedicated to studying cosmological inflation, which is a period of accelerated expansion in the very early Universe that is required to explain the observed anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background. Inflation, when…
We study the ultra slow roll model in the context of stochastic inflation. Using stochastic $\delta N$ formalism, we calculate the mean number of $e$-folds, the power spectrum, the bispectrum and the stochastic corrections into these…
We compute, from first principles, the quantum fluctuations about instanton saddle points of the Euclidean path integral for Einstein gravity coupled to a scalar field. The Euclidean two-point correlator is analytically continued into the…
At the minisuperspace level of homogeneous models, the bare probability for a classical universe has a huge peak at small universes for the Hartle-Hawking `no-boundary' wavefunction, in contrast to the suppression at small universes for the…
The Nelson stochastic mechanics of inhomogeneous quantum diffusion in flat spacetime with a tensor of diffusion can be described as a homogeneous one in a Riemannian manifold where this tensor of diffusion plays the role of a metric tensor.…
Inflation is often described through the dynamics of a scalar field, slow-rolling in a suitable potential. Ultimately, this inflaton must be identified as the expectation value of a quantum field, evolving in a quantum effective potential.…
We display some simple cosmological solutions of gravity theories with quadratic Ricci curvature terms added to the Einstein-Hilbert lagrangian which exhibit anisotropic inflation. The Hubble expansion rates are constant and unequal in…
The ability to reproduce the observed matter power spectrum $P(k)$ to high accuracy is often considered as a triumph of inflation. In this work, we explore an alternative explanation for the power spectrum based on nonperturbative quantum…
Inflationary cosmology successfully accounts for the observed properties of primordial fluctuations using quantum field theory in an expanding background. However, the quantum nature of these fluctuations has not been experimentally…
Various scenarios of the initial inflation of the universe are distinguished by the choice of a scalar field {\em potential} $U(\phi)$ which simulates a {\it temporarily} non--vanishing {\em cosmological term}. Our new method, which…
Stochastic inflation is an effective theory describing the super-Hubble, coarse-grained, scalar fields driving inflation, by a set of Langevin equations. We previously highlighted the difficulty of deriving a theory of stochastic inflation…
We find an exact classical solution in Euclidean gravity coupled to a scalar field with a particular form of potential commonly used in tachyon cosmology. This solution represents a tunneling between two vacua.
In light of the recent swampland conjectures, we explore quantum cosmology and eternal inflation beyond the slow roll regime. We consider a model of a closed universe with a scalar field $\phi$ in the framework of tunneling approach to…
We propose quantifying the quantum gravitational back-reaction on inflation with an invariant measure of the local acceleration rather than the expansion rate. Our observable is suitable for models in which there is no scalar inflaton to…
Detailed measurements of the cosmic microwave background indicate the large-scale homogeneity of the universe. On very small scales, we observe however inhomogeneities such as galaxies, stars, planets and ourselves. In the context of hot…