Related papers: Primordial features from ekpyrotic bounces
The new three year WMAP data seem to confirm the presence of non-standard large scale features in the Cosmic Microwave Anisotropies power spectrum. While these features may hint at uncorrected experimental systematics, it is also possible…
If the spatial curvature of the universe is positive, then the curvature term will always dominate at early enough times in a slow-rolling inflationary epoch. This enhances inflationary effects and hence puts limits on the possible number…
Scalar perturbations during inflation can be substantially amplified by tiny features in the inflaton potential. A bump-like feature behaves like a local speed-breaker and lowers the speed of the scalar field, thereby locally enhancing the…
We analyse the efficiency of future large scale structure surveys to unveil the presence of scale dependent features in the primordial spectrum --resulting from cosmic inflation-- imprinted in the distribution of galaxies. Features may…
I discuss a mechanism that renders the spectral index of the primordial spectrum and the inflationary stage independent of each other. If a scalar field acquires an appropriate time-dependent mass, it is possible to generate an adiabatic,…
If the very early Universe is dominated by the non-minimally coupled Higgs field and Starobinsky's curvature-squared term together, the potential diagram would mimic the landscape of a valley, serving as a cosmological attractor. The…
[Abridged] A variety of model-dependent as well as model-independent approaches suggest that certain localized features in the primordial scalar power spectrum can lead to a significantly better fit to the observed anisotropies in the…
In addition to generating the appropriate perturbation power spectrum, an inflationary scenario must take into account the need for inflation to end subsequently. In the context of single-field inflation models where inflation ends by…
Inflationary theory is already 20 years old, and it is impossible to describe all of its versions and implications in a short talk. I will concentrate on several subjects which I believe to be most important. First of all, I will give a…
In the framework of scalar-tensor theories of gravity, we construct a new kind of cosmological model that conflates inflation and ekpyrosis. During a phase of conflation, the universe undergoes accelerated expansion, but with crucial…
It has been argued that oscillatory features from spectator fields in the primordial power spectrum could be a probe of alternatives to inflation. In this work, we soften this claim by showing that the frequency and amplitude dependence of…
We propose a new model-independent mechanism for producing primordial black holes from a period of multi-field inflation. This requires an enhancement of primordial fluctuations at short scales compared to their value at CMB scales. We show…
Bouncing cosmologies, while offering a compelling alternative to inflationary models, face challenges from the growth of vector perturbations during the contracting phase. While linear vector instabilities can be avoided with specific…
We present a new class of complex instantons in the context of ekpyrotic cosmological theories. These instantons, which satisfy the "no-boundary" boundary conditions, describe the emergence of a classical, contracting universe out of…
We consider the reconstruction technique in theories with a single or multiple (phantom and/or canonical) scalar fields. With the help of several examples, it is demonstrated explicitly that the universe expansion history, unifying…
Inflation may have been driven by a component which violated the Null-Energy Condition, thereby leading to {\it super inflation}. We provide the formalism to study cosmological perturbations when such a component is described by a scalar…
We present a stable cosmological model of a closed universe in the presence of conventional scalar field. The stability of the model and absence of singularity is ensured by spatial curvature without the need for additional peculiar matter.…
The detection of a primordial stochastic gravitational wave background has the potential to reveal unprecedented insights into the early universe, and possibly into the dynamics of inflation. Generically, UV-complete inflationary models…
With Planck cosmic microwave background observations, we established the spectral amplitude and tilt of the primordial power spectrum. Evidence of a red spectral tilt ($n_\mathrm{s}=0.96$) at $8\sigma$ provides strong support for the…
A bouncing cosmology with an initial matter-dominated phase of contraction during which scales which are currently probed with cosmological observations exit the Hubble radius provides a mechanism alternative to inflation for producing a…