Related papers: Tabletop potentials for inflation from $f(R)$ grav…
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.…
A general approach to viable modified $f(R)$ gravity is developed in both the Jordan and the Einstein frames. A class of exponential, realistic modified gravities is introduced and investigated with care. Special focus is made on step-class…
We introduce the framework of modular inflation with level structure, generalizing the level one theory considered previously to higher levels. We analyze the modular structure of CMB observables in this framework and show that the…
We here explore a specific class of scalar field, dubbed quasi-quintessence which exhibits characteristics akin to ordinary matter. Specifically, we investigate under which conditions this fluid can mitigate the classical 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 examine inflationary universe models driven by scalar fields with logarithmic potentials of the form $V(\phi) = V_0 \phi^p(\ln \phi)^q$. Combining the slow-roll approximation with asymptotic techniques, we identify regions of the…
$R+R^2$ Supergravity is known to be equivalent to standard Supergravity coupled to two chiral supermultiples with a no-scale K\"ahler potential. Within this framework, that can accomodate vanishing vacuum energy and spontaneous…
We investigate a class of inflationary models in modified gravity theories which contain a non-minimal coupling between gravity and a scalar field $\phi$ (inflaton) as $f(R,T)=R \bigl(1+\alpha+ \kappa^4 \beta T \bigr)+\kappa^2\gamma T $…
We consider a modified gravity model of the form $ f(R,\phi)=R e^{h(\phi)R} $, where the strong gravity corrections are taken to all orders and $\phi$ is a self-interacting massless scalar field. We show that the conformal transformation of…
We study inflation with the non-minimally coupled Standard Model Higgs in the case when quantum corrections generate a hilltop in the potential. We consider both the metric and the Palatini formulation of general relativity. We investigate…
We consider a modified gravity framework for inflation by adding to the Einstein-Hilbert action a direct $f(\phi)T$ term, where $\phi$ is identified as the inflaton and $T$ is the trace of the energy-momentum tensor. The framework goes to…
We revisit the old (fourth-order or quadratically generated) gravity model of Starobinsky in four space-time dimensions, and derive the (inflaton) scalar potential in the equivalent scalar-tensor gravity model via a Legendre-Weyl transform.…
We propose a large class of supergravity models in terms of a single chiral matter superfield, leading to (almost) arbitrary single-field inflationary scalar potentials similar to the F-term in rigid supersymmetry. Those scalar potentials…
We study the inflationary evolution of a scalar field $h$ with an unstable potential for the case where the Hubble parameter $H$ during inflation is larger than the instability scale $\Lambda_I$ of the potential. Quantum fluctuations in the…
We point out that the ability of some models of inflation, such as Higgs inflation and the universal attractor models, in reproducing the available data is due to their relation to the Starobinsky model of inflation. For large field values,…
A novel realization of the Starobinsky inflationary model within a moderate extension of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) is presented. The proposed superpotential is uniquely determined by applying a continuous R and a Z_2…
We study the realization of cosmic inflation in bigravity theories. By analyzing the evolution of scalar, vector, and tensor perturbations in de Sitter-like spacetimes, we find strong stability constraints on the class of viable vacua…
We examine a wide class of multi-field inflationary models based on fields that decay or stabilize during inflation in a staggered fashion. The fields driving assisted inflation are on flat, short stretches, before they encounter a sharp…
We discuss the hybrid inflation model where the inflaton field is nonminimally coupled to gravity. In the Jordan frame, the potential contains $\phi^4$ term as well as terms in the original hybrid inflation model. In our model, inflation…
Starting from Einstein-Yang-Mills in higher dimensions with an instanton on a compact sphere, we dimensionally reduce to find an effective four-dimensional action describing "hilltop" inflation. Using recent CMB data, we analyse the…