Related papers: Constant-roll inflation in the generalized SU(2) P…
We generalize the notion of constant-roll inflation earlier introduced in General Relativity (GR) and $f(R)$ gravity to inflationary models in more general scalar-tensor gravity. A number of novel exact analytic solutions for a FLRW…
The key to the phenomenological success of inflation models with axion and SU(2) gauge fields is the isotropic background of the SU(2) field. Previous studies showed that this isotropic background is an attractor solution during inflation…
In this work, we explore the construction of the most general vector-tensor theory with an SU(2) global symmetry in the vector sector as a proposal for a modified theory of gravity. We start with a general Lagrangian containing terms…
We consider four-dimensional gravity coupled to a non-linear sigma model whose scalar manifold is a non-compact geometrically finite surface $\Sigma$ endowed with a Riemannian metric of constant negative curvature. When the space-time is an…
In this paper we study canonical scalar field models with a varying second slow-roll parameter, that allow transitions between constant-roll eras. In the models with two constant-roll eras it is possible to avoid fine-tunings in the initial…
We study generalized two-field $\alpha$-attractor models whose rescaled scalar manifold is the triply-punctured sphere endowed with its complete hyperbolic metric, whose underlying complex manifold is the modular curve $Y(2)$. Using an…
The induced gravity theory is a variant of Jordan--Brans--Dicke theory where the `dilaton' field possesses a potential. It has the unusual feature that in the presence of a false vacuum there is a {\em stable} static solution with the…
There has been considerable recent interest in a new class of non-slow roll inflationary solutions known as \textit{constant roll} inflation. Constant roll solutions are a generalization of the ultra-slow roll (USR) solution, where the…
Generalized Proca Theories are the most general higher-derivative extensions of a massive vector field that retain second-order equations of motion. They are phenomenologically interesting as models of dynamical dark energy that, unlike…
A generic outcome of theories with scalar-tensor coupling is the existence of inflationary attractors, either power-law or de Sitter. The fluctuations arising during this phase are Gaussian and their spectrum depends on the wavenumber $k$…
In constant-roll inflation, the scalar field that drives the accelerated expansion of the Universe is rolling down its potential at a constant rate. Within this framework, we highlight the relations between the Hubble slow-roll parameters…
We study inflation in a model with constant second slow-roll parameter $\eta$. In this case, the Hubble expansion rate equation has analytical solutions describing four possible, nontrivial inflation scenarios. The evolution of the inflaton…
The tensor fraction $r\simeq 0.16$ found by BICEP2 corresponds to a Hubble parameter $H\simeq 1.0\times 10^{14}\GeV$ during inflation. This has two implications for the (single-field) slow-roll inflation hypothesis. First, the inflaton…
In this PhD thesis, we investigate generic features of inflation which are strictly related to fundamental aspects of UV-physics scenarios, such as string theory or supergravity. After a short introduction to standard and inflationary…
We put forward novel extensions of Starobinsky inflation, involving a class of 'geometric' higher-curvature corrections that yield second-order Friedmann-Lema\^itre equations and second-order-in-time linearized equations around cosmological…
In this work we study slow-roll inflation for a vector-tensor model with massive vector fields non-minimally coupled to gravity. The model under consideration has arbitrary parameters for each geometrical coupling. Taking into account a…
We investigate the thermodynamics of a spatially flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) universe within the framework of Generalized Proca (GP) theory, a comprehensive vector-tensor theory. By adopting two distinct dark energy models in GP,…
We describe an induced inflation, which refers to a class of inflationary models with a generalized non-minimal coupling $\xi g(\phi) R$ and a specific scalar potential. The defining property of these models is that the scalar field takes a…
The previously proposed class of phenomenological inflationary models in which the assumption of inflaton slow-roll is replaced by the more general, constant-roll condition is compared with the most recent cosmological observational data,…
We study the slow-roll regime of two field inflation, in which the two fields are also coupled through their kinetic terms. Such Lagrangians are motivated by particle physics and by scalar-tensor theories studied in the Einstein frame. We…