Related papers: Cross-correlations between scalar perturbations an…
The simplest gauge invariant models of inflationary magnetogenesis are known to suffer from the problems of either large backreaction or strong coupling, which make it difficult to self-consistently achieve cosmic magnetic fields from…
The simplest model of primordial magnetogenesis can provide scale-invariant magnetic fields that can explain the present abundances of it in the cosmic scales. Two kinds of solutions of the coupling function can lead to such phenomena and…
A setting constituted by $\mathbb{N}$ 3-form fields, without any direct interaction between them, minimally coupled to gravity, is introduced in this paper as a framework to study the early evolution of the universe. We focus particularly…
We consider the evolution of scalar perturbations in a class of non-singular bouncing universes obtained with higher-order corrections to the low-energy bosonic string action. We show that previous studies have relied on a singular…
We investigate the effects of couplings between curvature and isocurvature perturbations before and around horizon-crossings during cosmological inflation. We consider a generalized two-field inflation model, in which the non-canonical…
The nonminimal coupling (NMC) of the scalar field to the Ricci curvature is unavoidable in many cosmological scenarios. Inflation and quintessence models based on nonminimally coupled scalar fields are studied, with particular attention to…
We analyze cosmological perturbations to the linear order in the context of inflation with an arbitrary number of scalar fields. The fields take values on a non-trivial manifold with a positive-definite metric and are non-minimally coupled…
This paper investigates Starobinsky's model of inflation driven by the trace anomaly of conformally coupled matter fields. This model does not suffer from the problem of contrived initial conditions that occurs in most models of inflation…
We discuss how primordial non-Gaussianity of the curvature perturbation helps to constrain models of the early universe. Observations are consistent with Gaussian initial conditions, compatible with the predictions of the simplest models of…
The recently proposed model of 'solid inflation' features a peculiar three-point function for scalar perturbations with an anisotropic, purely quadrupolar, squeezed limit. We confirm this result as well as the overall amplitude of the three…
We study multifield contributions to the scalar power spectrum in an ensemble of six-field inflationary models obtained in string theory. We identify examples in which inflation occurs by chance, near an approximate inflection point, and we…
We calculate how primordial anisotropies in the background space-time affect the evolution of cosmological perturbations for bouncing alternatives to inflation, like ekpyrosis and the matter bounce scenario. We find that the leading order…
In the standard inflationary paradigm the inhomogeneities observed in the CMB arise from quantum fluctuations of an initially homogeneous and isotropic vacuum state. This picture suffers from two well-known weaknesses. First, it assumes…
Realistic models of particle physics include many scalar fields. These fields generically have nonminimal couplings to the Ricci curvature scalar, either as part of a generalized Einstein theory or as necessary counterterms for…
Adiabatic (curvature) perturbations are produced during a period of cosmological inflation that is driven by a single scalar field, the inflaton. On particle physics grounds -- though -- it is natural to expect that this scalar field is…
Inflationary predictions for the power spectrum of the curvature perturbation have been verified to an excellent degree, leaving many models compatible with observations. In this thesis we studied third-order correlations, that might allow…
In this paper we study the evolution of cosmological perturbations through a nonsingular bouncing universe using covariant perturbation theory and examine the validity of linear perturbation theory. The bounce is modeled by a two component…
We derive a set of no-go theorems and yes-go examples for the parity-odd primordial trispectrum of curvature perturbations. We work at tree-level in the decoupling limit of the Effective Field Theory of Inflation and assume scale invariance…
One of the firm predictions of inflationary cosmology is the consistency relation between scalar and tensor spectra. It has been argued that such a relation -if experimentally confirmed- would offer strong support for the idea of inflation.…
We propose a novel scenario to generate primordial magnetic fields during inflation induced by an oscillating coupling of the electromagnetic field to the inflaton. This resonant mechanism has two key advantages over previous proposals.…