Related papers: Testing Inflation with Large Scale Structure: Conn…
It was pointed out recently that in some inflationary models quantum loops containing a scalar of mass $m$ that couples to the inflaton can be the dominant source of primordial non-Gaussianities. We explore this phenomenon in the simplest…
We investigate non-Gaussianity in the modulated reheating scenario where fluctuations of the decay rate of the inflaton generate adiabatic perturbations, paying particular attention to the non-linearity parameters $f_{\rm NL}, \tau_{\rm…
A pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson, with a potential of the form $ V(\phi) = \Lambda^4 [1 + \cos(\phi/f)]$, can naturally give rise to an epoch of inflation in the early universe (Freese, Frieman, and Olinto 1990). The potential is naturally…
The scale-dependent bias of galaxy density contrasts is an important signal to be extracted in constraining local primordial non-Gaussianity ($f_{\rm NL}^{\text{local}}$) from observations of large-scale structure. Constraints so obtained…
Fundamental formulae representing the density perturbation spectrums generated in inflationary scenarios are rigorously proved. Quantum fluctuations as initial conditions for structure generation in some inflationary era can be calculated…
We compute the power spectrum of curvature perturbations in stochastic inflation. This combines the distribution of first crossing times through the end-of-inflation surface, which has been previously studied, with the distribution of the…
We forecast constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity achievable from forthcoming surveys by exploiting the scale-dependent halo bias introduced on large scales by non-Gaussian initial conditions. We explore the performance of exploiting…
Observations of the cosmic microwave sky are revealing the primordial non-uniformities from which all structure in the Universe grew. The only known physical mechanism for generating the inhomogeneities we see involves the amplification of…
We calculate the scale dependence of the bispectrum and trispectrum in (quasi) local models of non-Gaussian primordial density perturbations, and characterize this scale dependence in terms of new observable parameters. They can help to…
The simplest realizations of the new inflationary scenario typically give rise to primordial density fluctuations which deviate logarithmically from the scale free Harrison - Zeldovich spectrum. We consider a number of such examples and, in…
Inflation is considered one of the cornerstones of modern cosmology. However, the account of the origin of cosmic structure, as provided by the standard inflationary paradigm, is not fully satisfactory. The fundamental issue is the…
Non-Gaussian statistics in the distribution of large scale structure, and in temperature fluctuations of the cosmic microwave background, can be used to constrain inflationary models. Data on the cosmic microwave background from Planck…
The simplest models of inflation predict small non-gaussianities and a featureless power spectrum. However, there exist a large number of well-motivated theoretical scenarios in which large non-gaussianties could be generated. In general,…
We study signatures in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) induced by the presence of strong spatial curvature prior to the epoch of inflation which generated our present universe. If inflation does not last sufficiently long to drive the…
The usual account for the origin of cosmic structure during inflation is not fully satisfactory, as it lacks a physical mechanism capable of generating the inhomogeneity and anisotropy of our Universe, from an exactly homogeneous and…
Primordial perturbations with wavelengths greater than the observable universe shift the effective background fields in our observable patch from their global averages over the inflating space. This leads to a landscape picture where the…
We are on the verge of the first precision testing of the inflationary cosmology as a model for the origin of structure in the Universe. I review the key predictions of inflation which can be used as observational tests, in the sense of…
The spatial curvature of the universe is not yet known. Even though at present the Universe is very close to being essentially flat and most signatures of curvature appear to have been diluted by inflation, if the number of e-foldings…
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 propose a new test for distinguishing observationally cosmological models based on seed-like primordial perturbations (like cosmic strings or textures), from models based on Gaussian fluctuations. We investigate analytically the {\it…