Related papers: $\phi^2$ or Not $\phi^2$: Testing the Simplest Inf…
We introduce a new class of hilltop and plateau potentials which can successfully unify inflation and dark energy resulting in Quintessential Inflation (QI). Interestingly these new potentials are related through an inverse transformation.…
We investigate a possibility to restrict the chaotic inflationary scenario with "large" nonminimally coupled inflaton("phi") field considered by Fakir and Unruh by means of the observed CMBR anisotropy. We calculate the contributions of the…
The spectrum of primordial gravitational waves is one of the most robust inflationary observables, often thought of as a direct probe of the energy scale of inflation. We present a simple model, where the dynamics controlling this…
A new inflationary scenario driven by a slowly-rolling homogeneous scalar field whose potential $V\left(\varphi\right)$ is given by a generalized exponential function is investigated. Within the {\it slow-roll} approximation we obtain the…
We propose a new class of inflation model, G-inflation, which has a Galileon-like nonlinear derivative interaction of the form $G(\phi, (\nabla\phi)^2)\Box\phi$ in the Lagrangian with the resultant equations of motion being of second order.…
The aim of this chapter is to explain in clear and pedagogical terms how some particle-physics models and/or mechanisms can naturally lead to inflation and how this can provide testable predictions that can help us find new physics effects.…
We demonstrate that the gravity wave background amplitude implies a robust upper bound on the ratio: \lambda / H^{-1} < e^60, where \lambda is the proper wavelength of fluctuations of interest and H^{-1} is the horizon at the end of…
We propose a modification of the Natural Inflation (NI) potential in such a way that the spontaneous symmetry breaking scale $f$ can take values less than one (in Planck units). The proposed potential seems simple enough, however, its…
We consider Higgs inflation with an $\alpha R^2$ term. It adds a new scalar degree of freedom, which leads to a two-field model of inflation. We do a complete slow-roll analysis of the three-dimensional parameter space of the $R^2$…
We introduce a new method that allows for the Higgs to be the inflaton. That is, we let the Higgs be a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone (pNG) boson of a global coset symmetry $G/H$ that spontaneously breaks at an energy scale $\sim 4\pi f$ and give…
The refined de Sitter (dS) conjecture provides two consistency conditions for an effective theory potential of a quantum gravity theory. Any inflationary model can be checked by these conditions and minimal gauge inflation is not an…
Inverted hybrid inflation (in which the inflaton field slowly rolls away from the origin, giving a spectral index $n\lsim 1$) is an appealing variant of the more usually studied hybrid model. Analysing the model alongside the ordinary…
It was recently shown that a large value of the tensor to scalar ratio $r$ implies a constraint on the minimum value of the sound speed $c_s$ of primordial curvature perturbations during inflation that is stronger than current bounds coming…
We re-examine the predictiveness of single-field inflationary models and discuss how an unknown UV completion can complicate determining inflationary model parameters from observations, even from precision measurements. Besides the usual…
Nonminimally coupled inflation models based on a nonminimal coupling $\xi \phi^{2} R$ and a $\phi^{4}$ potential are in excellent agreement with the scalar spectral index observed by Planck. Here we consider the modification of these models…
We compute the growth of the mean square of quantum fluctuations of test fields with small effective mass during a slowly changing, nearly de Sitter stage which took place in different inflationary models. We consider a minimally coupled…
We investigate general scalar field potentials \hbox{$V\left(\phi\right)$} for inflationary cosmology arising from spontaneous symmetry breaking. We find that potentials which are dominated by terms of order $\phi^m$ with \hbox{$m > 2$} can…
We comprehensively explore the quadratic curvaton models in the chaotic inflation. In the light of the BICEP2 result $r \approx 0.2$, all model parameters and relevant observables are computed. It is found the curvaton field value is…
We propose an inflationary scenario based on a many-flavor hidden QCD with eight flavors, which realizes the almost scale-invariant (walking) gauge dynamics. The theory predicts two types of composite (pseudo) Nambu-Goldstone bosons, the…
Constraints to the parameters of inflation models are often derived assuming some plausible range for the number--e.g., $N_k=46$ to $N_k=60$--of $e$-folds of inflation that occurred between the time that our current observable Universe…