Related papers: Inflation with exotic kinetic terms in Einstein-Ch…
In this work we shall study $k$-inflation theories with non-minimal coupling of the scalar field to gravity, in the presence of only a higher order kinetic term of the form $\sim \mathrm{const}\times X^{\mu}$, with…
We consider the Gauss-Bonnet term coupled to the inflaton in the Palatini formulation of gravity. Unlike in the metric formulation, the Gauss-Bonnet term is not always a total derivative. We solve for the connection and insert it into the…
In this paper, we investigate chaotic inflation from scalar field subjected to potential in the framework of $f(R^2, P, Q)$-gravity, where we add a correction to Einstein's gravity based on a function of the square of the Ricci scalar…
Inflationary cosmology is the leading explanation of the very early universe. Many different models of inflation have been constructed which fit current observational data. In this work theoretical and numerical methods for constraining the…
A scale-invariant universe can have a period of accelerated expansion at early times: inflation. We use a frame-invariant approach to calculate inflationary observables in a scale invariant theory of gravity involving two scalar fields -…
We extend the theory of cosmological perturbations to the case when the ``matter'' Lagrangian is an arbitrary function of the scalar field and its first derivatives. In particular, this extension provides a unified description of known…
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 investigate a nonsingular initial state of the Universe which leads to inflation naturally. The model is described by a scalar field with a quadratic potential in Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld gravity. The curvature of this initial…
Since the standard inflationary paradigm is based on quantum field theory on classical space-times, it excludes the Planck era. Using techniques from loop quantum gravity, the paradigm is extended to a self-consistent theory from the Planck…
We consider curved space quantum corrections to the equations of motion of the inflaton field in the early Universe. Using the stochastic formalism in phase space, we demonstrate that the quantum corrected evolution of the inflaton can…
The union of high-energy particle theories and gravitation often gives rise to an evolving strength of gravity. The standard picture of the earliest universe would certainly deserve revision if the Planck mass, which defines the strength of…
Higher-order theories of gravity are a branch of modified gravity wherein the geometrodynamics of the four-dimensional Riemannian manifold is determined by field equations involving derivatives of the metric tensor of order higher than two.…
For simple inflationary models, we provide a consistent and complete scheme by which the macro-physical details of early universe inflation may be determined explicitly from the underlying micro-physical theory. We examine inflationary…
Inflation is often described through the dynamics of a scalar field, slow-rolling in a suitable potential. Ultimately, this inflaton must be identified as the expectation value of a quantum field, evolving in a quantum effective potential.…
We propose an inflationary scenario, M-flation, in which inflation is driven by three $N\times N$ hermitian matrices $\Phi_i, i=1,2,3$. The inflation potential of our model, which is strongly motivated from string theory, is constructed…
Higher-order theories of gravity are extensions to general relativity (GR) motivated mainly by high-energy physics searching for GR ultraviolet completeness. They are characterized by the inclusion of correction terms in the…
It is widely accepted that the primordial universe experienced a brief period of accelerated expansion called inflation. This scenario provides a plausible solution to the horizon and flatness problems. However, the particle physics…
Quantum gravity computations suggest the existence of an ultraviolet and an infrared fixed point where quantum scale invariance emerges as an exact symmetry. We discuss a particular variable gravity model for the crossover between these…
We show that various types of scalaron-induced inflation, including the Starobinsky inflation, can be realized in the Einstein-Cartan gravity with the Nieh-Yan term and/or the Holst term. Einstein-Cartan $f(R)$ theory is known not to induce…
We study inflationary universe models that are characterized by a single scalar inflaton field. The study of these models are based on two dynamical equations; one corresponding to the Klein-Gordon equation for the inflaton field, and the…