Related papers: Horizon, homogeneity and flatness problems -- do t…
We demonstrate that the high isotropy of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), combined with the Copernican principle, is not sufficient to prove homogeneity of the universe -- in contrast to previous results on this subject. The crucial…
The standard model of cosmology assumes that the Universe can be described to hover around a homogeneous-isotropic solution of Einstein's general theory of relativity. This description needs (sometimes hidden) hypotheses that restrict the…
We present a new cosmological model, based on the holographic principle, which shares many of the virtues of inflation. The very earliest semiclassical era of the universe is dominated by a dense gas of black holes, with equation of state…
It is proposed that if quantum states of space-time are coherent on null surfaces, holographic Planck-scale fluctuations of inflationary horizons dominate the formation of primordial scalar curvature perturbations. It is shown that the…
We consider the eternal inflation scenario of the slow-roll/chaotic type with the additional element of an objective collapse of the wave function. The incorporation of this new agent to the traditional inflationary setting might represent…
The apparent accelerating expansion of the Universe is forcing us to examine the foundational aspects of the standard model of cosmology -- in particular, the fact that dark energy is a direct consequence of the homogeneity assumption. We…
We display some simple cosmological solutions of gravity theories with quadratic Ricci curvature terms added to the Einstein-Hilbert lagrangian which exhibit anisotropic inflation. The Hubble expansion rates are constant and unequal in…
We find that general relativity can be naturally free of cosmological singularities. Several nonsingular models are currently available that either assume ad hoc matter contents, or are nonsingular only over a sector of solution space of…
This paper discusses the problem of inflation in the context of Friedmann-Robertson-Walker Cosmology. We show how, after a simple change of variables, one can quantize the problem in a way which parallels the classical discussion. The…
Four-dimensional gravitational theories derived from an infinite sum of Lovelock curvature invariants, combined with a conformal rescaling of the metric, are equivalent to a subclass of shift-symmetric Horndeski theories that possess a…
It is well known that large Hubble-induced supergravity corrections to the inflaton field can ruin the flatness of the potential, thus creating a tension between slow-roll inflation and supergravity. In this paper we show that it is…
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…
A basic problem that confronts the standard cosmological models is the problem of initial singularity characterised by infinite material density, infinite temperature and infinite spacetime curvature. The inevitable existence of such a…
In a unified picture both inflation and present dynamical dark energy arise from the same scalar field. The history of the Universe describes a crossover from a scale invariant "past fixed point" where all particles are massless, to a…
While cosmological inflation can erase primordial inhomogeneities, it is possible that inflation may not begin in a significantly inhomogeneous universe. This issue is particularly pressing in multifield scenarios, where even the…
In this paper we find a solution for a quasi-isotropic inflationary Universe which allows to introduce in the problem a certain degree of inhomogeneity. We consider a model which generalize the (flat) FRW one by introducing a first order…
It is widely accepted that the primordial universe experienced a brief period of accelerated expansion called inflation. This scenario provides a plausible solution to the horizon and flatness problems. However, the particle physics…
This thesis is dedicated to studying cosmological inflation, which is a period of accelerated expansion in the very early Universe that is required to explain the observed anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background. Inflation, when…
The leading account of several salient observable features of our universe today is provided by the theory of cosmic inflation. But an important and thus far intractable question is whether inflation is generic, or whether it is finely…
The linear cosmological perturbation theory of almost homogeneous and isotropic perfect fluid and scalar field universes is reconsidered and formally simplified. Using the existence of a covariant conserved quantity on large perturbation…