Related papers: $f(R)$ Gravity Inflation with String-Corrected Axi…
Many models of dark matter QCD axion requires inflation at a scale $H_{\text{inf}} \lesssim 10^{6}$~GeV and hence does not allow for a detectable tensor mode fluctuation. This is because the domain wall problem forces the Peccei--Quinn…
A relaxed primordial power spectrum (PPS) of scalar perturbations arising from inflation can impact the dark radiation constraints obtained from Cosmic Microwave Background and other cosmological measurements. If inflation produces a…
We consider FRW cosmology in non-local modified gravity. Its local scalar-tensor formulation is developed. It is explicitly demonstrated that such theory may lead to the unification of early-time inflation with late-time cosmic…
The "gravitational baryogenesis" scenario is extended to generate both baryon and dark matter asymmetries, in the matter dominated era corresponding to post-inflationary reheating. A minimal extension requires a singlet fermion X for dark…
Closed string tachyon condensation in spacetime generates potentials on the worldsheet that model two-dimensional inflationary cosmology. These models illustrate and elucidate a variety of aspects of inflation, in particular the generation…
Axions have for some time been considered a plausible candidate for dark matter. They can be produced through misalignment, but it has been argued that when inflation occurs before a Peccei-Quinn transition, appreciable production can…
We derive the predictions of quantum gravity with fakeons on the amplitudes and spectral indices of the scalar and tensor fluctuations in inflationary cosmology. The action is $R+R^{2}$ plus the Weyl-squared term. The ghost is eliminated by…
Building on Weinberg's approach to effective field theory for inflation, we construct an effective Lagrangian for a pseudo scalar (axion) inflaton field with shift symmetry. In this Lagrangian we allow the axion field to couple to…
Violation of parity symmetry in the gravitational sector, which manifests into unequal left and right circular polarization states of primordial gravitational waves, represents a way to test high-energy modifications to general relativity.…
We explore the possibility of obtaining inflation in weakly coupled heterotic string theory, where the model dependent axions are responsible for driving inflation. This model can be considered as a certain extrapolation of…
The string-inspired running vacuum model (StRVM) of inflation is based on a Chern-Simons (CS) gravity effective action, in which the only four-spacetime-derivative-order term is a gravitational anomalous CS Pontryagin density coupled to an…
A generic feature of viable $F(R)$ gravity is investigated: It is demonstrated that during the matter dominated era the large frequency oscillations of the effective dark energy may influence the behavior of higher derivatives of the Hubble…
The quest to understand the nature of dark matter and dark energy motivates a deep exploration into axion physics, particularly within the framework of string theory. Axions, originally proposed to solve the strong CP problem, emerge as…
We propose a new, generic mechanism of inflation mediated by a balance between potential forces and a Chern-Simons interaction. Such quasi-topological interactions are ubiquitous in string theory. In the minisuperspace approximation, their…
Because the inflationary mechanism is extremely sensitive to UV-physics, the construction of theoretically robust models of inflation provides a unique window on Planck-scale physics. We review efforts to use an axion with a shift symmetry…
Inspired by the chromo-natural inflation model of Adshead&Wyman, we reshape its scalar content to relax the tension with current observational bounds. Besides an inflaton, the setup includes a spectator sector in which an axion and SU(2)…
We study pseudoscalar inflation in the Einstein-Cartan-Palatini (first-order) formulation of gravity while allowing for torsion. We introduce two non-minimal interactions in the gravitational sector: pseudoscalar couplings to the Pontryagin…
Affine gravity, a gravity theory based on affine connection with no notion of metric, supports scalar field dynamics only if scalar fields have non-vanishing potential. The non-vanishing vacuum energy ensures that the cosmological constant…
We search for viable f(R) theories of gravity, making use of the equivalence between such theories and scalar-tensor gravity. We find that models can be made consistent with solar system constraints either by giving the scalar a high mass…
A model of inflation realization driven by fermions with curvature-dependent mass is studied. Such a term is derived from the Covariant Canonical Gauge Theory of gravity (CCGG) incorporating Dirac fermions. We obtain an initial de Sitter…