Related papers: Before the Bang
The early stages of the universe evolution are discussed according to the hot big bang model and the grand unified theories. The shortcomings of big bang are summarized and their resolution by inflationary cosmology is sketched.…
We propose a method to extract predictions from quantum cosmology for inflation that can be confronted with observations. Employing the tunneling boundary condition in quantum geometrodynamics, we derive a probability distribution for the…
The expected tensor-to-scalar ratio estimate of the upcoming CMB mission probe measurements may establish a lower value of the ratio than the currently obtained value. It can be described in terms of a single field chaotic inflation model…
The goal of this report is to provide an up to date account of results on the quantum nature of the big bang, obtained in loop quantum cosmology. They suggest a radical modification of the paradigm provided by general relativity for the…
We investigate cosmological solutions for the modified gravity theory obtained from quantum relative entropy between the metric of spacetime and the metric induced by the geometry and matter fields. The vacuum equations admit inflationary…
The inflationary paradigm, although very successful phenomenologically, suffers from several conceptual problems which motivate the search for alternative scenarios of early universe cosmology. Here, two possible alternatives will be…
The recently suggested generalized unimodular gravity theory, which was originally put forward as a model of dark energy, can serve as a model of cosmological inflation driven by the effective perfect fluid -- the dark purely gravitational…
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…
We critically review the role of cosmological moduli in determining the post-inflationary history of the universe. Moduli are ubiquitous in string and M-theory constructions of beyond the Standard Model physics, where they parametrize the…
In bounce inflation scenario, the inflation is singularity-free, while the advantages of inflation are reserved. We analytically calculate the power spectrum of its primordial gravitational waves (GWs), and show a universal result including…
Inflationary cosmology proposes that the early Universe undergoes accelerated expansion, driven, in simple scenarios, by a single scalar field, or inflaton. The form of the inflaton potential determines the initial spectra of density…
The beautiful scenario of pre-big-bang cosmology is appealling not only because it is more or less derived from string theory, but also because it separates clearly the problem of the initial conditions for the universe from that of high…
We consider the description of cosmological dynamics from the onset of inflation by a perfect fluid whose parameters must be consistent with the strength of the enhanced quantum loop effects that can arise during inflation. The source of…
In this paper, we study the pre-inflationary dynamics for the power-law potential $(V(\phi) \propto \phi^n)$ with $n<2$ in the framework of loop quantum cosmology. In the case where the kinetic energy of the inflaton dominates at the…
We study numerically the inhomogeneous pre-big-bang inflation in a spherically symmetric space-time. We find that a large initial inhomogeneity suppresses the onset of the pre-big-bang inflation. We also find that even if the pre-big-bang…
We systematically review some standard issues and also the latest developments of modified gravity in cosmology, emphasizing on inflation, bouncing cosmology and late-time acceleration era. Particularly, we present the formalism of standard…
Inflationary cosmology has, in the last few years,received a strong dose of support from observations. The fact that the fluctuation spectrum can be extracted from the inflationary scenario through an analysis that involves quantum field…
The very early universe provides the best arena we currently have to test quantum gravity theories. The success of the inflationary paradigm in accounting for the observed inhomogeneities in the cosmic microwave background already…
An investigation is undertaken into the properties and effects of a preinflationary era during at least part of which semiclassical gravity was valid. It is argued that if the Universe (or our part of it) was approximately homogeneous and…
In these lectures I focus on early universe models which can explain the currently observed structure on large scales. I begin with a survey of inflationary cosmology, the current paradigm for understanding the origin of the universe as we…