Related papers: Broken scale invariance, $\alpha$-attractors and v…
Within the $\alpha$-attractors framework we investigate scalar potentials with the same pole as the one featured in the kinetic term. We show that, in field space, this leads to directions without a plateau. Using this, we present a…
We study the stability of an inflaton condensate in the presence of attractive inflaton self-interactions, in order to determine analytical conditions on the self-interaction couplings under which the condensate undergoes fragmentation. As…
We propose a scenario where inflation is driven by non-minimally coupled massive vector fields. In an isotropic homogeneous universe these fields behave in presicely the same way as a massive minimally coupled scalar field. Therefore our…
We show that pure quadratic gravity with quantum loop corrections yields a viable inflationary scenario. We also show that a large family of models in the Jordan frame, with softly-broken scale invariance, corresponds to the same theory…
The supergravity (SUGRA) theories with exact global $U(1)$ symmetry or shift symmetry in K\"ahler potential provide the natural frameworks for inflation. However, the quadratic inflation is disfavoured by the new results on primordial…
The $\alpha$-attractor models of inflation have remained one of the preferred inflationary models for nearly a decade now. The unique attractor nature of these models in the $n_s-r$ plane have put these models in the sweet-spot of the…
This paper investigates a scale-invariant inflationary model characterized by a scalar field non-minimally coupled to gravity and a curvature term quadratic in the Ricci scalar. The model's dynamic is analyzed using a full numerical…
We examine the consequences of Lorentz violation during slow-roll inflation. We consider a canonical scalar inflaton coupled, through its potential, to the divergence of a fixed-norm timelike vector field, or "aether." The vector is…
We examine the choice of scale at which constraints on inflationary observables are presented. We describe an implementation of the hierarchy of inflationary consistency equations which ensures that they remain enforced on different scales,…
Cosmological alpha-attractors give a natural explanation for the spectral index n_s of inflation as measured by Planck while predicting a range for the tensor-to-scalar ratio r, consistent with all observations, to be measured more…
For bouncing cosmologies such as the ekpyrotic/cyclic scenarios we show that it is possible to make predictions for density perturbations which are independent of the details of the bouncing phase. This can be achieved, as in inflationary…
We offer a geometric interpretation of attractor theories with singular kinetic terms as a union of multiple canonical models. We demonstrate that different domains (separated by poles) can drastically differ in their phenomenology. We…
[Abridged] A sharp cut-off in the primordial scalar power spectrum on large scales has been known to improve the fit to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) data when compared to the more standard, nearly scale invariant power spectrum…
A number of scalar field models proposed as alternatives to the standard inflationary scenario involve contracting phases which precede the universe's present phase of expansion. An important question concerning such models is whether there…
We describe a broad class of multi-field inflationary models with spontaneously broken conformal invariance. It generalizes the recently discovered class of cosmological attractors with a single inflaton field. In the new multi-field…
If we posit the validity of the consistency relations, the tensor spectral index and the relative amplitude of the scalar and tensor power spectra are both fixed by a single slow roll parameter. The physics of the protoinflationary…
The large hierarchy between the Planck scale and the weak scale can be explained by the dynamical breaking of supersymmetry in strongly coupled gauge theories. Similarly, the hierarchy between the Planck scale and the energy scale of…
Supersymmetry-based hybrid inflation models (referred to as `spontaneously broken supersymmetry' by the Planck collaboration) are attractive for several reasons, including the appealing feature that inflation is associated with local gauge…
Many, if not most, inflationary models predict the power-law index of the spectrum of density perturbations is close to one, though not precisely equal to one, |n-1| \sim O(0.1), implying that the spectrum of density perturbations is…
We study here the observational constraints on single-field inflationary models achievable with the next generation of CMB experiments. We particularly focus on a Stage-IV like experiment and forecasts its constraints on inflationary…