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We embed the supersymmetric standard model of hybrid inflation based on the next-to-minimal superpotential term $\lambda NH_uH_d$ supplemented by an inflaton term $\kappa \phi N^2$, into an extra-dimensional framework, in which all the…
Recent observations from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT), especially when combined with DESI baryon acoustic oscillation data, indicate a scalar spectral index $n_s$ higher than the value reported by \textit{Planck} 2018, placing…
The paradigm of \Lambda CDM cosmology works impressively well and with the concept of inflation it explains the universe after the time of decoupling. However there are still a few concerns; after much effort there is no detection of dark…
Data on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) are discriminating between different models of inflation, disfavoring simple monomial potentials whilst being consistent with models whose predictions resemble those of the Starobinsky $R + R^2$…
Cosmological $\alpha$-attractors are a compelling class of inflationary models. They lead to universal predictions for large-scale observables, broadly independent from the functional form of the inflaton potential. In this work we derive…
In this article we review the theory of cosmological inflation with a particular focus on the beautiful connection it provides between the physics of the very small and observations of the very large. We explain how quantum mechanical…
We consider a cosmological model in which the tensor mode becomes massive during inflation, and study the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature and polarization bispectra arising from the mixing between the scalar mode and the…
We introduce the framework of modular inflation with level structure, generalizing the level one theory considered previously to higher levels. We analyze the modular structure of CMB observables in this framework and show that the…
The success of a given inflationary model crucially depends upon two features: its predictions for observables such as those of the Cosmic Microwave background (CMB) and its insensitivity to the unknown ultraviolet (UV) physics such as…
We find successful models of D-brane/anti-brane inflation within a string context. We work within the GKP-KKLT class of type IIB string vacua for which many moduli are stabilized through fluxes, as recently modified to include `realistic'…
We summarize the utility of precise cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization measurements as probes of the physics of inflation. We focus on the prospects for using CMB measurements to differentiate various inflationary mechanisms. In…
Reheating is the the epoch which connects inflation to the subsequent hot Big-Bang phase. Conceptually very important, this era is however observationally poorly known. We show that the current Planck satellite measurements of the Cosmic…
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 investigate the constraining power of future CMB and galaxy surveys on models of quintessential inflation realized within the framework of $\alpha$-attractors. We analyze how these future datasets will probe the parameter space of…
We assay how inflationary models whose properties are dominated by the dynamics of a single scalar field are constrained by cosmic microwave background (CMB) data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP). We classify…
Inflation is an early period of accelerated cosmic expansion, thought to be sourced by high energy physics. A key task today is to use the influx of increasingly precise observational data to constrain the plethora of inflationary models…
We discuss inflation in models with large extra dimensions, driven by a bulk scalar field. The brane inflaton is then a single effective field, obtained from the bulk scalar field by scaling. The self interaction terms of the effective…
Fluctuations in the intensity and polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and the large-scale distribution of matter in the universe each contain clues about the nature of the earliest moments of time. The next generation of…
We consider the CMB constraints on reheating and dark matter parameter space for a specific plateau type inflationary model. The plateau inflationary models which are currently most favored models from data can be well approximated by a…
We revisit the inflationary dynamics in detail for theories with Gauss-Bonnet gravity coupled to scalar functions, in light of the Planck data. Considering the chaotic inflationary scenario, we constrain the parameters of two models…