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Horndeski models with a de Sitter critical point for any kind of material content may provide a mechanism to alleviate the cosmological constant problem. Moreover, they could allow us to understand the current accelerated expansion of the…
We study the importance of baryonic physics on predictions of the matter power spectrum as it is relevant for forthcoming weak lensing surveys. We quantify the impact of baryonic physics using a set of three cosmological numerical…
A model of inhomogeneous baryogenesis based on the Affleck and Dine mechanism is described. A simple coupling of the scalar baryon field to the inflaton allows for formation of astronomically significant bubbles with a large baryon (or…
In this contribution I review the connection between compact stars and high-baryon density matter, focusing on astrophysical observables for deconfinement to quark matter. I discuss modern ingredients, repositories, and constraints for the…
We analyze the quantum cosmology of the simplest pre--big--bang model without dilaton potential. In addition to the minisuperspace variables we include inhomogeneous dilaton fluctuations and determine their wave function on a semiclassical…
The standard cold dark matter cosmological model, while successful in explaining the observed large scale structure of the Universe, tends to overpredict structure on small scales. It has been proposed this problem may be alleviated in a…
Departures of the energy spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) from a perfect blackbody probe a fundamental property of the universe -- its thermal history. Current upper limits, dating back some 25 years, limit such spectral…
When scale symmetry is implemented into hidden local symmetry in low-energy strong interactions to arrive at a scale-invariant hidden local symmetric (HLS) theory, the scalar $f_0(500)$ may be interpreted as pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone (pNG)…
We propose a new intuitive metric for evaluating the tension between two experiments, and apply it to several data sets. While our metric is non-optimal, if evidence of tension is detected, this evidence is robust and easy to interpret.…
The Hubble parameters measured by the DESI DR2 BAO observations show a significant discrepancy from the prediction of the standard cosmological model. This discrepancy, together with the long-discussed Hubble tension, may originate from…
The recent observations of neutron star mergers have changed our perspective on scalar- tensor theories of gravity, favouring models where gravitational waves travel at the speed of light. In this work we consider a scalar-tensor set-up…
We derive the decay rate of an unstable phase of a quantum field theory in the presence of an impurity in the thin-wall approximation. This derivation is based on the how the impurity changes the (flat spacetime) geometry relative to case…
Uncertain feedback processes in galaxies affect the distribution of matter, currently limiting the power of weak lensing surveys. If we can identify cosmological statistics that are robust against these uncertainties, or constrain these…
The aim of these lecture notes is to familiarize graduate students and beginning postgraduates with the basic ideas of linear cosmological perturbation theory and of structure formation scenarios. We present both the Newtonian and the…
Upcoming large galaxy surveys will subject the standard cosmological model, $\Lambda$CDM, to new precision tests. These can be tightened considerably if theoretical models of galaxy formation are available that can predict galaxy clustering…
A scalar-tensor theory of gravity is formulated in which $G$ and particle masses are allowed to vary. The theory yields a globally static cosmological model with no evolutionary timescales, no cosmological coincidences, and no flatness and…
We construct a generalized EFT approach to dense compact-star matter that exploits the CCP for hadron-quark continuity at high density, hidden topology and hidden symmetries of QCD. No Landau-Ginzburg-Wilsonian-type phase transition is…
We investigate the global texture model of structure formation in cosmogonies with non-zero cosmological constant for different values of the Hubble parameter. We find that the absence of significant acoustic peaks and little power on large…
The results from Planck2015, when combined with earlier observations from WMAP, ACT, SPT and other experiments, were the first observations to disfavor the "classic" inflationary paradigm. To satisfy the observational constraints,…
A new class of deformation of the matrix model of M-theory is considered. The deformation is analogous to the so-called $\b$-deformation of $D=3+1$, $\mN=4$ Super Yang-Mills theory, which preserves the conformal symmetry. It is shown that…