Related papers: Transitioning from a bounce to $R^2$ inflation
Quantum gravitational back-reaction offers the potential of simultaneously resolving the problem of the cosmological constant and providing a natural model of inflation in which scalars play no special role. In this model inflation begins…
Cosmological models involving a bounce from a contracting to an expanding universe can address the standard cosmological puzzles and generate "primordial" density perturbations without the need for inflation. Some such models, in particular…
Nonsingular cosmologies are investigated in the framework of f(R) gravity within the first order formalism. General conditions for bounces in isotropic and homogeneous cosmology are presented. It is shown that only a quadratic curvature…
A novel scalar field free approach to cosmic inflation is presented. The inflationary Universe and the radiation dominated Universe are shown, within the framework of unified brane cosmology, to be two different phases governed by one and…
Cosmological inflation is discussed in the framework of $F(R,{\cal G})$ gravity where $F$ is a generic function of the curvature scalar $R$ and the Gauss-Bonnet topological invariant $\cal G$. The main feature that emerges in this analysis…
We have found numerically initial conditions in the $(R, H)$ plane leading to a successful Starobinsky inflation in $R+R^2$ gravity for a isotropic metrics with positive spatial curvature. Trajectories can reach inflation regime either…
Observational cosmology is in its "golden age" with a vast amount of recent data on the distribution of matter and light in the universe. This data can be used to probe theories of the very early universe. It is small amplitude cosmological…
An oscillating universe cycles through a series of expansions and contractions. We propose a model in which ``phantom'' energy with a supernegative pressure ($p < - \rho$) grows rapidly and dominates the late-time expanding phase. The…
In this thesis, we discuss several instances in which non-linear behaviour affects cosmological evolution in the early Universe. We begin by reviewing the standard cosmological model and the tools used to understand it theoretically and to…
Starting from pure multidimensional gravity with curvature-nonlinear terms but no matter fields in the initial action, we obtain a cosmological model with two effective scalar fields related to the size of two extra factor spaces. The model…
We discuss how the modifications of the standard Einstein's equations needed to support the cosmological bounce can at the same time lead to vanishing of the well known cosmological constant problem, while also studying the effects of…
Some form of approximately exponential inflation is generally assumed to be the origin of our present universe. The inflation is thought to be driven by a scalar field potential where the field first slowly slides along the potential and…
We reconsider the toy model studied in [1] of a spatially closed Friedmann-Lemaitre universe, driven by a massive scalar field, which deflates quasi-exponentially, bounces and then enters a period of standard inflation. We find that the…
We show that in the simplest theories of spontaneous symmetry breaking one can have a stage of a fast-roll inflation. In this regime the standard slow-roll condition |m^2| << H^2 is violated. Nevertheless, this stage can be rather long if…
An oscillating universe cycles through a series of expansions and contractions. We propose a model in which ``phantom'' energy with $p < -\rho$ grows rapidly and dominates the late-time expanding phase. The universe's energy density is so…
In the context of Quantum Cosmology and the Wheeler-DeWitt equation we investigate the possible effects of a non semiclassical wave-function of the universe on the evolution of the inflationary perturbations. These are associated with the…
In the present work we derive an exact solution of an isotropic and homogeneous Universe governed by $f(T)$ gravity. We show how the torsion contribution to the FRW cosmology can provide a \textit{unique} origin for both early and late…
The standard inflationary version of the origin of the cosmic structure as the result of the quantum fluctuations during the inflationary stage is less than fully satisfactory: how exactly does the Universe transit from a homogeneous and…
We explore inflationary cosmology in a theory where there are two scalar fields which non-minimally couple to the Ricci scalar and an additional $R^2$ term, which breaks the conformal invariance. Particularly, we investigate the slow-roll…
We consider the reconstruction technique in theories with a single or multiple (phantom and/or canonical) scalar fields. With the help of several examples, it is demonstrated explicitly that the universe expansion history, unifying…