Related papers: Transplanckian axions !?
We consider the UV-protected inflation, where the inflaton potential is obtained by quantum (one-loop) breaking of a global symmetry into a discrete symmetry. In this model, all coupling scales are sub-Planckian. This is achieved by…
For variable gravity models the strength of gravity, as measured by Newton's ``constant'' or the Planck mass, depends on the value of a scalar field, the cosmon. We discuss two simple four-parameter models with a quadratic or constant…
In this talk, I present a theory of quantum gravity beyond Einstein. The theory is established based on spinnic and scaling gauge symmetries by treating the gravitational force on the same footing as the electroweak and strong forces. A…
It is widely believed that string theory easily allows for a QCD axion in the cosmologically favoured mass range. The required small decay constant, $f_a\ll M_P$, can be implemented by using a large compactification volume. This points to…
We study compactifications of Einstein gravity on product spaces in vacuum and their acceleration phases. Scalar potentials for the dimensionally reduced effective theory are found to be of exponential form and exact solutions are obtained…
There is a deep tension between the well-developed theory of gravitational waves from isolated systems and the presence of a positive cosmological constant $\Lambda$, however tiny. In particular, even the post-Newtonian quadrupole formula,…
Extensions of the Standard Model and general relativity featuring a UV fixed point can leave observable implications at accessible energies. Although mass parameters such as the Planck scale can appear through dimensional transmutation, all…
We analyze the propagation of a scalar field in multidimensional theories which include kinetic corrections in the brane, as a prototype for gravitational interactions in a four dimensional brane located in a (nearly) flat extra dimensional…
We revisit inflationary cosmology of axion models in the light of recent developments on the inflaton decay in supergravity. We find that all the cosmological difficulties, including gravitino, axino overproduction and axionic isocurvature…
In this work, we study field theoretic systems of a single axion-like field with linear potentials modulated by cosine terms, allegedly induced by non-perturbative instanton configurations. These systems are considered in expanding-Universe…
Oscillons are massive, long-lived, localized excitations of a scalar field. We show that in a large class of well-motivated single-field models, inflation is followed by self-resonance, leading to copious oscillon generation and a lengthy…
A conformal field theory on the boundary of three-dimensional asymptotic anti-de Sitter spaces which appear as near horizon geometry of D-brane bound states is discussed. It is shown that partition functions of gravitational instantons…
We propose new models of an `affine' theory of gravity in $D$-dimensional space-times with symmetric connections. They are based on ideas of Weyl, Eddington and Einstein and, in particular, on Einstein's proposal to specify the space - time…
In the framework of quantum field theory, we analyze the neutrino oscillations in the presence of a torsion background. We consider the Einstein-Cartan theory and we study the cases of constant torsion and of linearly time dependent…
We extend the thermodynamic derivation of gravity in the Jacobson framework by generalizing the Clausius relation through a nontrivial entropy functional. We show that entropy deformations appear as modifications of the effective…
The effects of possible explicit violation of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry responsible for the solution of the strong CP problem are studied in supersymmetric models. It is shown that automatic models with an abelian $U(1)$ gauge symmetry are…
We study the non-linear dynamics of axion inflation, capturing for the first time the inhomogeneity and full dynamical range during strong backreaction, till the end of inflation. Accounting for inhomogeneous effects leads to a number of…
Causality constrains the gravitational interactions of massive higher spin particles in both AdS and flat spacetime. We explore the extent to which these constraints apply to composite particles, explaining why they do not rule out…
Elastic collisions in the transplanckian region, where the center-of-mass energy is much larger than the fundamental gravity mass scale, can be described by linearized general relativity and known quantum-mechanical effects as long as the…
Einstein-Cartan theory is an extension of the standard formulation of General Relativity characterized by a non-vanishing torsion. The latter is sourced by the matter fields via the spin tensor, and its effects are expected to be important…