Related papers: Oscillating Chiral Tensor Spectrum from Axionic In…
We propose a natural inflation model driven by an imaginary or axionic component of a K\"ahler modulus in string-inspired supergravity. The shift symmetry of the axion is gauged under an anomalous $U(1)_X$ symmetry, which leads to a…
We develop a possibility of generating tensor non-Gaussianity in a kind of anisotropic inflation, where a $U(1)$ gauge field is kinetically coupled to a spectator scalar field. Owing to this coupling, the coherent mode of the electric field…
The shift-symmetric coupling of a pseudo-scalar particle driving inflation to gauge fields provides a unique way of probing cosmic inflation. We show for an SU(2) gauge group how a classical isotropic background gauge field develops from…
We discuss some model-independent implications of embedding (aligned) axionic inflation in string theory. As a consequence of string theoretic duality symmetries the pure cosine potentials of natural inflation are replaced by modular…
We investigate the spectrum of gravitational waves arising from primordial inflation in the presence of a string-theoretical higher curvature correction, specifically, the Gauss-Bonnet coupling term for the inflaton (modulus) field. We show…
A Chern-Simons interaction between a pseudo-scalar field and a U(1) gauge field results in the generation of a chiral gravitational wave background. The detection of this signal is contrasted by the fact that this coupling also generates…
The original model of axion natural inflation produces a tensor-to-scalar ratio above the experimental limit. Aligned axion inflation admits inflationary trajectories that originate near a saddle point of the two-field potential, and…
We show how successful supersymmetric hybrid inflation is realized in realistic models where the resolution of the minimal supersymmetric standard model mu problem is intimately linked with axion physics. The scalar fields that accompany…
We explore the possibility of obtaining inflation in weakly coupled heterotic string theory, where the model dependent axions are responsible for driving inflation. This model can be considered as a certain extrapolation of…
We present a consistent one-loop calculation for the inflationary tensor power spectrum in the presence of an excited spectator scalar field using the in-in formalism. We find that the super-horizon primordial power spectrum of the tensor…
A direct detection of primordial gravitational waves is the ultimate probe for any inflation model. While current CMB bounds predict the generic scale-invariant gravitational wave spectrum from slow-roll inflation to be below the reach of…
We provide a detailed study of natural inflation with a periodic non-minimal coupling, which is a well-motivated inflationary model that admits an explicit UV completion. We demonstrate that this construction can satisfy the most recent…
Axion-inflation models are a compelling candidate as a mechanism behind the accelerated expansion in the early universe in light of the possibility to embed them in higher dimensional UV complete theories and the exciting prospect of…
We consider a class of inflationary models with small oscillations imprinted on an otherwise smooth inflaton potential. These oscillations are manifest as oscillations in the power spectrum of primordial perturbations, which then give rise…
We demonstrate that Chromo-Natural Inflation can be made consistent with observational data if the SU(2) gauge symmetry is spontaneously broken. Working in the Stueckelberg limit, we show that isocurvature is negligible, and the resulting…
We consider, in the context of axion-inflation, the \textit{Pure Natural Inflation} (PNI) model coupled with an SU(2) gauge sector via a Chern-Simons term. As the axion rolls down its potential, it dissipates energy in the gauge sector thus…
In low-energy effective string theory, $\alpha'$ corrections involve the coupling of the dilaton field to Gauss-Bonnet term. We assume that the dilaton potential is fine tuned so that the dilaton field may oscillate rapidly for a while…
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…
We study the pattern of oscillations in the primordial power spectrum in axion monodromy inflation, accounting for drifts in the oscillation period that can be important for comparing to cosmological data. In these models the potential…
The BICEP2 experiment confirms the existence of primordial gravitational wave with the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r=0$ ruled out at $7\sigma$ level. The consistency of this large value of $r$ with the {\em Planck} data requires a large…