Related papers: No-Go theorems for ekpyrosis from ten-dimensional …
We utilize a recently proposed cubic nilpotent superfield to realize inflation in supergravity with the minimal degrees of freedom: the inflaton, graviton, and massive gravitino. As an advantage, the resultant model is free from the…
In this work we shall study $k$-inflation theories with non-minimal coupling of the scalar field to gravity, in the presence of only a higher order kinetic term of the form $\sim \mathrm{const}\times X^{\mu}$, with…
We perform a general algebraic analysis on the possibility of realising slow-roll inflation in the moduli sector of string models. This problem turns out to be very closely related to the characterisation of models admitting metastable…
The characterization of a six- (or seven)-dimensional internal manifold with metric as having positive, zero or negative curvature is expected to be an important aspect of warped compactifications in supergravity. In this context, Douglas…
We discuss the possible realisation in string/M theory of the recently discovered family of four-dimensional maximal $SO(8)$ gauged supergravities, and of an analogous family of seven-dimensional half-maximal $SO(4)$ gauged supergravities.…
We calculate the most general causal N=1 three-dimensional, gauge invariant action coupled to matter in superspace and derive its component form using Ectoplasmic integration theory. One example of such an action can be obtained by…
We perform a careful investigation of which p-form fields can be introduced consistently with the supersymmetry algebra of IIA and/or IIB ten-dimensional supergravity. In particular the ten-forms, also known as "top-forms", require a…
Summarizing the results of arXiv:0707.1038, we discuss the four-dimensional effective approach to type II N=1 supersymmetric flux compactifications with general SU(3)x SU(3)-structure. In particular, we study the effect of a non-trivial…
We initiate the systematic study of flux scalar potentials and their vacua by using asymptotic Hodge theory. To begin with, we consider F-theory compactifications on Calabi-Yau fourfolds with four-form flux. We argue that a classifications…
M-theory compactifies on a seven-dimensional time-dependent hyperbolic or flat space to a four-dimensional FLRW cosmology undergoing a period of accelerated expansion in Einstein conformal frame. The strong energy condition is violated by…
We explore the possibility of a scalar field driving ekpyrotic contraction through a non-canonical kinetic energy density rather than a negative potential. We find that this kinetically-driven ekpyrosis ("k-ekpyrosis") can be achieved in a…
The slow roll approximation is studied for cosmological models in Hyperextended Scalar-Tensor Theories of Gravity. A procedure to obtain slow roll solutions in non-minimally coupled gravity is outlined and some examples are provided. An…
We study the embedding of the monodromy inflation mechanism by E. Silverstein and A. Westphal (2008) in a concrete compactification setting. To that end, we look for an appropriate vacuum of type IIA supergravity, corresponding to the…
We analyze the general conditions on the equation of state $w$ required for quantum fluctuations of a scalar field to produce a scale-invariant spectrum of density perturbations, including models which (in the four dimensional effective…
In the context of four-dimensional type II supergravities, the successive application of various S/T-dualities leads to a generalized notion of fluxes, which includes certain (non-)geometric fluxes along with the standard RR and NS-NS…
In this paper, we present a new scenario of the early Universe that contains a pre big bang Ekpyrotic phase. By combining this with a ghost condensate, the theory explicitly violates the null energy condition without developing any…
Oscillating moduli fields can support a cosmological scaling solution in the presence of a perfect fluid when the scalar field potential satisfies appropriate conditions. We examine when such conditions arise in higher-dimensional,…
We propose a new class of inflationary solutions to the standard cosmological problems (horizon, flatness, monopole,...), based on a modification of old inflation. These models do not require a potential which satisfies the normal…
In the light of the new observational results we discuss the status of the exponential potentials driving inflation. We depart form the minimal scenario and study an inflaton kinetically coupled to the Einstein tensor. We find that in this…
I generalize the three-point amplitude of curvature perturbations in the climbing scenario inspired by ten-dimensional non-supersymmetric strings to a broader class of exponential potentials, under some assumptions on the smoothing effects…