Related papers: Finite temperature effects in modular cosmology
We present predictions of the K\"ahler moduli inflation model for the spectral tilt by parametrising the reheating epoch by an effective equation-of-state parameter and the number of e-foldings of reheating; and taking into account the…
We derive analytic expressions for the Helmholtz free energy, Casimir force, and Casimir entropy for both one-dimensional and three-dimensional scalar fields with Dirichlet boundary conditions at finite temperature. We investigate the…
We analyze the dynamics of models of warm inflation with general dissipative effects. We consider phenomenological terms both for the inflaton decay rate and for viscous effects within matter. We provide a classification of the asymptotic…
We derive the first systematic observational constraints on reheating in models of inflation where an additional light scalar field contributes to primordial density perturbations and affects the expansion history during reheating. This…
The recent Planck results and future releases on the horizon present a key opportunity to address a fundamental question in inflationary cosmology of whether primordial density perturbations have a quantum or thermal origin, i.e. whether…
The early universe according to the big bang and the grand unified theories is discussed. The shortcomings of big bang are summarized together with their resolution by inflationary cosmology. Inflation, the subsequent oscillation and decay…
We study the problem of scalar particle production after inflation by a rapidly oscillating inflaton field. We use the framework of the chaotic inflation scenario with quartic and quadratic inflaton potentials. Particular attention is paid…
The standard model of cosmology with nearly Gaussian, isotropic, scale invariant and adiabatic initial conditions describes the cosmological observations well. However, the study of any deviation from the mentioned conditions will open up a…
We develop a new class of chaotic inflation models with spontaneously broken conformal invariance. Observational consequences of a broad class of such models are stable with respect to strong deformations of the scalar potential. This…
We revisit the scenario where inflation is preceded by a radiation era by considering that the inflaton too could have been in thermal equilibrium early in the radiation era. Hence we take into account not only the effect of a…
The important role of scalar field in cosmology was noticed by a number of authors. Due to the fact that the scalar field possesses zero spin, it was basically considered in isotropic cosmological models. If considered in an anisotropic…
In order to solve the fine-tuning problem of the cosmological constant, we propose a simple model with the vacuum energy non-minimally coupled to the inflaton field. In this model, the vacuum energy decays to the inflaton during…
Small Recent theories have proposed a variety of massive particles, like the moduli, whose abundance or decay endangers standard cosmological results. To dilute them, thermal inflation has been proposed, with its own massive scalar flaton…
The reheating stage in post-inflationary cosmologies is reanalyzed. New techniques from non-equilibrium quantum field theory allow a consistent derivation of the equation of motion including the non-linearity of the dynamics. These offer a…
We study the sensitivity of cosmological observables to the reheating phase following inflation driven by many scalar fields. We describe a method which allows semi-analytic treatment of the impact of perturbative reheating on cosmological…
The influence of cosmological constant type dark energy in the early universe is investigated. This is accommodated by a new dispersion relation in de Sitter spacetime. We perform a global fitting to explore the cosmological parameters…
CMB polarization provides a unique window into cosmological inflation; the amplitude of the B-mode polarization from last scattering is uniquely sensitive to the energetics of inflation. However, numerous systematic effects arising from…
Recent cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations put strong constraints on the spatial curvature via estimation of the parameter $\Omega_k$ assuming an almost scale invariant primordial power spectrum. We study the evolution of the…
Scalar fields appear in many theories beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. In the early universe, they are exposed to extreme conditions, including high temperature and rapid cosmic expansion. Understanding their behavior in this…
Preheating at the end of inflation is a violent nonlinear process that efficiently transfers the energy of the inflaton to a second field, the preheat field. When the preheat field is light during inflation and its background value…