Related papers: Low-$\ell$ power suppression in punctuated inflati…
Non-commutative inflation is a modification of standard general relativity inflation which takes into account some effects of the space-time uncertainty principle motivated by ideas from string theory. The corrections to the primordial…
Slow-roll inflation may simultaneously solve the horizon problem and generate a near scale-free fluctuation spectrum P(k). These two processes are intimately connected via the initiation and duration of the inflationary phase. But a recent…
Inflation in a five-dimensional brane world model with two boundary branes is studied. We make use of the moduli space approximation whereby the low energy theory reduces to a four-dimensional biscalar-tensor gravity plus a minimally…
We study the scenario of inflection point inflation where a flat direction of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) is identified with the inflaton. Specifically, we consider in full generality the cases where a MSSM flat…
We analyze the latest cosmic microwave background (CMB) constraints on the scalar spectral index $n_s$ and tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ from Planck 2018, BICEP/Keck 2018, the Atacama Cosmology Telescope Data Release 6 (ACT DR6), and the South…
In models of inflation obtained from string compactification, moduli vacuum misalignment leads to an epoch in the post-inflationary history of the universe when the energy density is dominated by cold moduli particles. This effect leads to…
We revisit the scenario where inflation is preceded by a radiation era by considering that the inflaton too could have been in thermal equilibrium early in the radiation era. Hence we take into account not only the effect of a…
We consider instant preheating as the mechanism for generating the curvature perturbation at the end of chaotic inflation. Then we examine if inflation could be driven by a Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) flat direction or a…
Inflation scenarios kinetically coupled with the Einstein tensor have been widely studied. They can be consistent with current observational data. Future experiments on the measurement on CMB distortions will potentially extend information…
We explore the possibility that both the suppression of the $\ell = 2$ multipole moment of the power spectrum of cosmic microwave background temperature fluctuations and the possible dip for $\ell = 10-30$ can be explained as well as a…
We explore the relationship between features in the Planck 2015 temperature and polarization data, shifts in the cosmological parameters, and features from inflation. Residuals in the temperature data at low multipole $\ell$, which are…
The power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background from both the {\it Planck} and {\it WMAP} data exhibits a slight dip for multipoles in the range of $l= 10-30$. We show that such a dip could be the result of the resonant creation of…
We propose an inflation model in which the inflationary era is driven by the strong dynamics of $Sp(2)$ gauge theory. The quark condensation in the confined phase of $Sp(2)$ gauge theory generates the inflaton potential comparable to the…
Very small mean curvature is a robust prediction of inflation worth rigorous checking. Since current constraints are derived from determinations of the angular-diameter distance to the CMB last-scattering surface, which is also affected by…
We study the asymmetric primordial fluctuations in a model of inflation in which translational invariance is broken by a domain wall. We calculate the corrections to the power spectrum of curvature perturbations; they are anisotropic and…
There is an apparent power deficit relative to the $\Lambda$CDM prediction of the CMB spectrum at large scales, which, though not yet statistically significant, persists from WMAP to Planck data. Proposals that invoke some form of initial…
Inflation due to a non-minimally coupled scalar field with a large non-minimal coupling, as first proposed by Salopek, Bardeen and Bond (SBB), is in good agreement with the observed value of the spectral index and constraints on the…
We present a rigorous and comprehensive investigation of a generalized inflationary perturbation theory designed to address persistent large-scale anomalies in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). Motivated by the Trans-Planckian problem…
A new family of inflationary models is introduced and analysed. The behaviour of the parameters characterising the models suggest preferred values, which generate the most interesting testable predictions. Results are further improved if…
Several unexpected features have been observed in the microwave sky at large angular scales, both by WMAP an by Planck. Among those features is a lack of both variance and correlation on the largest angular scales, alignment of the lowest…