Related papers: Planck scale operators, inflation and fine tuning
We investigate, in a model-independent way, the conditions required to obtain a satisfactory model of extended inflation in which inflation is brought to an end by a first-order phase transition. The constraints are that the correct present…
We construct a model of inflation based on a low-energy effective theory of spontaneously broken global scale invariance. This provides a shift symmetry that protects the inflaton potential from quantum corrections. Since the underlying…
In most current models of inflation based on a weakly self-coupled scalar matter field minimally coupled to gravity, the period of inflation lasts so long that, at the beginning of the inflationary period, the physical wavelengths of…
We consider the extension of the Standard Model (SM) with a light inflaton where both unitarity problem in Higgs inflation and vacuum instability problem are resolved. The linear non-minimal coupling of the inflaton to gravity leads to a…
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…
An appealing explanation for the Planck data is provided by inflationary models with a singular non-canonical kinetic term: a Laurent expansion of the kinetic function translates into a potential with a nearly shift-symmetric plateau in…
Many models of supersymmetry breaking involve particles with weak scale mass and Planck mass suppressed couplings. Coherent production of such particles in the early universe destroys the successful predictions of nucleosynthesis. We show…
The eta problem is one of the most significant obstacles to building a successful inflationary model in string theory. Planck mass suppressed corrections to the inflaton potential generally lead to inflaton masses of order the Hubble scale…
We highlight the fact that the lack of scale invariance in the gravitational field equations of General Relativity results from the underlying assumption that the appropriate scale for the gravitational force should be linked to the atomic…
We present two scale invariant models of inflation in which the addition of quadratic in curvature terms in the usual Einstein-Hilbert action, in the context of Palatini formulation of gravity, manages to reduce the value of the…
We discuss the way of solving the hierarchy problem. We show that starting at the Planck scale, the three energy scales -- inflationary, electroweak and the cosmological ones can be restored. The formation of small parameters is proposed…
If physics at the Planck scale requires new conceptions of space-time, then generic renormalizable field theories predict observable violations of Lorentz invariance in the low energy sector. The little recognized ``Lorentz Fine Tuning…
The general scalar-tensor theory that includes all the dimension-four terms has parameter regions that can produce successful inflation consistent with cosmological observations. This theory is in fact the same as the Higgs-Starobinsky…
We propose a minimal model framework for physics below the Planck scale with the following features: (i) it is based on no-scale supergravity, as favoured in many string compactifications, (ii) it incorporates Starobinsky-like inflation,…
Inflationary cosmology attempts to provide a natural explanation for the flatness and homogeneity of the observable universe. In the context of reversible (unitary) evolution, this goal is difficult to satisfy, as Liouville's theorem…
Brane inflation can provide a promissing framework for solving the fine-tuning problem in standard inflationary models. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the mechanism by which this can be achieved. By considering the supersymmetric…
Grand unification of gauge couplings and fermionic representations remains an appealing proposal to explain the seemingly coincidental structure of the Standard Model. However, to realise the Standard Model at low energies, the unified…
Using techniques from loop quantum gravity, the standard theory of cosmological perturbations was recently generalized to encompass the Planck era. We now apply this framework to explore pre-inflationary dynamics. The framework enables us…
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…
We comment on Weinberg's interesting analysis of asymptotically safe inflation (arXiv:0911.3165). We find that even if the gravity theory exhibits an ultraviolet fixed point, the energy scale during inflation is way too low to drive the…