Related papers: Moduli backreaction and supersymmetry breaking in …
Recently, a class of inflation models in supergravity with gauge non-singlet matter fields as the inflaton has been proposed. It is based on a `tribrid' structure in the superpotential and on a Heisenberg symmetry for solving the…
We consider a broad class of inflationary models that arise naturally in supergravity. They are defined in terms of a parameter $\alpha$ that determines the curvature and cutoff of these models. As a function of this parameter, we exhibit…
Heavy scalar fields can undergo an instability during inflation as a result of their kinetic couplings with the inflaton. This is known as the geometrical destabilization of inflation, as it relies on the effect of the negative curvature of…
Based on a previously derived superstring model possessing a cosmological sector that mimics Starobinsky inflation, we analyze several questions addressed in the recent literature: the generation of an effective $R^2$-term, the stability of…
We discuss string corrections to the effective potential in various models of brane inflation. These corrections contribute to the mass of the inflaton candidate and may improve its slow-roll properties. In particular, in orientifold string…
Several models of inflation with the racetrack superpotential for the volume modulus coupled to a matter field are investigated. In particular, it is shown that two classes of racetrack inflation models, saddle point and inflection point…
I study two-stage hybrid inflation driven by moduli fields, corresponding to flat directions of supersymmetry, lifted by supergravity corrections. The first stage corresponds to a period of either fast-roll or `locked' inflation, induced by…
By using a string-inspired modular invariant supergravity, which was proved well to explain WMAP observations appropriately, a mechanism of supersymmetry breaking (SSB) and Gravitino Production just after the end of inflation are…
We investigate the validity of effective field theory methods and the decoupling of heavy fields during inflation. Considering models of inflation in which the inflaton is coupled to a heavy (super-Hubble) degree of freedom initially in its…
Production of gravitationally coupled light moduli fields must be suppressed in the early universe, so that its decay products do not alter Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) predictions for light elements. On the other hand, the moduli quanta…
In a general single field inflationary model we consider the effects of long wavelength scalar fluctuations on the effective expansion rate and equation of state seen by a class of free falling observers, using a physical gauge invariant…
We study the generation of magnetic fields during inflation making use of a coupling of the inflaton and moduli fields to electromagnetism via the photon kinetic term, and assuming that the coupling is an increasing function of time. We…
We propose a large class of supergravity models in terms of a single chiral matter superfield, leading to (almost) arbitrary single-field inflationary scalar potentials similar to the F-term in rigid supersymmetry. Those scalar potentials…
We review the status of the Starobinsky-like models for inflation beyond minimal gravity and discuss the unitarity problem due to the presence of a large non-minimal gravity coupling. We show that the induced gravity models allow for a…
We propose the Starobinsky-type inflationary model in the matter-coupled $N=1$ four-dimensional supergravity with the massive vector multiplet that has inflaton (scalaron) and goldstino amongst its field components, whose action includes…
The formalism of stochastic inflation is a powerful tool for analyzing the backreaction of cosmological perturbations, and making precise predictions for inflationary observables. We demonstrate this with the simple $m^2\phi^2$ model of…
Realising $F$-term slow-roll inflation in supergravity is non-trivial due to the well-known $\eta$-problem. The common strategy to solve the problem is to impose a shift symmetry on the K\"ahler potential, but this often leads to a negative…
We propose an inflationary scenario, M-flation, in which inflation is driven by three $N\times N$ hermitian matrices $\Phi_i, i=1,2,3$. The inflation potential of our model, which is strongly motivated from string theory, is constructed…
We investigate multi-field inflationary scenarios with fields that drop out of the model in a staggered fashion. This feature is natural in certain multi-field inflationary setups within string theory; for instance, it can manifest itself…
Slow-roll inflation requires the inflaton field to have an exceptionally flat potential, which combined with measurements of the scale of inflation demands some degree of fine-tuning. Alternatively, the flatness of the potential could be…