Related papers: On quantifying and resolving the BICEP2/Planck ten…
In this paper, we investigate the possible theoretical constraint on the parameter $n$ of the agegraphic quintessence model by considering the requirement of the weak gravity conjecture that the variation of the quintessence scalar field…
We point out three correlated predictions of the axion monodromy inflation model: large amplitude of gravitational waves, suppression of power on horizon scales and on scales relevant for the formation of dwarf galaxies. While these…
The measurements of Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies made by the Planck satellite provide extremely tight upper bounds on the total neutrino mass scale ($\Sigma m_{\nu}<0.26 eV$ at $95\%$ C.L.). However, as recently discussed in the…
The recent BICEP2 detection of, what is claimed to be primordial $B$-modes, opens up the possibility of constraining not only the energy scale of inflation but also the detailed acceleration history that occurred during inflation. In turn…
In this paper we provide an accurate bound on primordial gravitational waves, i.e. tensor-to-scalar ratio $(r)$ for a general class of single-field models of inflation where inflation occurs always below the Planck scale, and the field…
The observational status of inflation after the Planck 2013 and 2015 results and the BICEP2/Keck Array and Planck joint analysis is discussed. These pedagogical lecture notes are intended to serve as a technical guide filling the gap…
We discuss the general structure and observational consequences of some of the simplest versions of chaotic inflation in supergravity in relation to the data by Planck 2013 and BICEP2. We show that minimal modifications to the simplest…
We present projected constraints on the cosmic string tension, $G\mu/c^2$, that could be achieved by future gravitational wave detection experiments and express our results as semi-analytic relations of the form $G\mu(\Omega_{\rm…
The BICEP2 collaboration has for the first time observed the B-mode polarization associated with inflationary gravitational waves. Their result has some discomfiting implications for the validity of an effective theory approach to…
In this work we analyse in detail the possibility of using small and intermediate-scale gravitational wave anisotropies to constrain the inflationary particle content. First, we develop a phenomenological approach focusing on anisotropies…
We demonstrate that the approximation for the number of inflationary e-folds commonly used in the literature can lead to highly inaccurate predictions for the amplitude of primordial gravitational waves. We show that such an approximation…
The spectrum of primordial perturbations obtained by calculating the quantum gravitational corrections to the dynamics of scalar perturbations is compared with Planck 2013 and BICEP2/{\it Keck Array} public data. The quantum gravitational…
The Standard-Model Extension provides a framework to systematically investigate possible violation of the Lorentz symmetry. Concerning gravity, the linearized version was extensively examined. We here cast the first set of experimental…
We show that S-dual inflationary potentials solve the unlikeliness problem manifested in Planck data and explain the excess B-mode power observed by the BICEP2 experiment as arising from primordial tensor fluctuations.
In this work we explore the possibility of variations in the primordial scalar power spectrum around the power-law shape, as predicted by single-field slow-roll inflationary scenarios. We search for the trace of these fluctuations in a…
Primordial Gravitational Waves, i.e. a background of metric perturbations sourced by the quantum inflationary fluctuations, if measured, could both provide a substantial evidence for primordial inflation and shed light on physics at…
A detection of primordial B-modes has been heralded not only as a smoking gun for the existence of inflation, but also as a way to establish the scale at which inflation took place. In this paper we critically reinvestigate the connection…
We investigate the properties of a stochastic gravitational wave background produced by a first-order electroweak phase transition in the regime of extreme supercooling. We study a scenario whereby the percolation temperature that signifies…
In this paper, we present the first comprehensive CMB data analysis of cosmological collider physics. New heavy particles during inflation can leave imprints in the primordial correlators which are observable in today's cosmological…
We present new constraints on spectator axion-${\rm U}(1)$ gauge field interactions during inflation using the latest $Planck$ (PR4) and BICEP/Keck 2018 data releases. This model can source tensor perturbations from amplified gauge field…