Related papers: The (relative) size does not matter in inflation
Large field inflation models are favored by the recent BICEP2 that has detected gravitational wave modes generated during inflation. We study general large field inflation models for which the potential contains (constant) quadratic and…
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…
An inflationary single field model with a non-trivial kinetic term for the inflaton is discussed. It is shown that it is possible to have large primordial non-gaussianities and large tensor-to-scalar ratio in a simple concrete model with…
We reexamine the recently proposed "little inflation" scenario that allows for a strong first order phase-transition of QCD at non-negligible baryon number in the early universe and its possible observable consequences. The scenario is…
We consider the Gauss-Bonnet term coupled to the inflaton in the Palatini formulation of gravity. Unlike in the metric formulation, the Gauss-Bonnet term is not always a total derivative. We solve for the connection and insert it into the…
The predictions of standard Higgs inflation in the framework of the metric formalism yield a tensor-to-scalar ratio $r \sim 10^{-3}$ which lies well within the expected accuracy of near-future experiments $ \sim 10^{-4}$. When the Palatini…
We show the effects of supersymmetric higher derivative terms on inflation models in supergravity. The results show that such terms generically modify the effective kinetic coefficient of the inflaton during inflation if the cut off scale…
We consider hybrid inflation for small couplings of the inflaton to matter such that the critical value of the inflaton field exceeds the Planck mass. It has recently been shown that inflation then continues at subcritical inflaton field…
We revisit an extension of the well-known formalism for gauge-invariant scalar metric fluctuations, to study the spectrums for both, the inflaton and gauge invariant (scalar) metric fluctuations in the framework of a single field…
Classic inflation, the theory described in textbooks, is based on the idea that, beginning from typical initial conditions and assuming a simple inflaton potential with a minimum of fine-tuning, inflation can create exponentially large…
If the inflaton is a pseudo-scalar axion, the axion shift symmetry can protect the flatness of its potential from too large radiative corrections. This possibility, known as natural inflation, requires an axion scale which is greater than…
We investigate inflationary magnetogenesis in a scenario where conformal invariance of electromagnetism is broken through a \emph{non-minimal Yukawa-like coupling between the inflaton and the Ricci scalar}. We account for electromagnetic…
The leading order dynamics of the type IIB Large Volume Scenario is characterised by the interplay between $\alpha'$ and non-perturbative effects which fix the overall volume and all local blow-up modes leaving (in general) several flat…
We consider a possibility that one of the flat directions in the minimal supersymmetric standard model plays the role of the inflaton field and realizes large-field inflation. This is achieved by introducing a generalized shift symmetry on…
We critically examine the recent claim that the Standard Model Higgs boson ${\cal H}$ could drive inflation in agreement with observations if $|{\cal H}|^2$ has a strong coupling $\xi\sim 10^4$ to the Ricci curvature scalar. We first show…
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 show that modifications of Einstein gravity during inflation could leave potentially measurable imprints on cosmological observables in the form of non-Gaussian perturbations. This is due to the fact that these modifications appear in…
We reconsider the fine-tuning problem of scalar-driven inflation arising from the need to couple the inflaton to ordinary matter in order to make reheating efficient. Quantum fluctuations of this matter induce Coleman-Weinberg corrections…
The oscillating inflation model recently proposed by Damour and Mukhanov is investigated with a non-minimal coupling. Numerical study confirms an inflationary behavior and the density perturbation is obtained. A successful inflation…
Topological defects may play the role of the curvatons. We propose a new mechanism of generating density perturbations from cosmological defects in inflationary models. We show several examples in which defects play crucial role in…