Related papers: Unveiling the nonlinear dynamics of a rolling axio…
We study the evolution of quantum fluctuations of gravity around an inflationary solution in renormalizable quantum gravity, in which the initial scalar-fluctuation dominance is shown by the background-free nature expressed by a special…
We present the first computation of the cosmological perturbations generated during inflation up to second order in deviations from the homogeneous background solution. Our results, which fully account for the inflaton self-interactions as…
We study the prospects of detection at terrestrial and space interferometers, as well as at pulsar timing array experiments, of a stochastic gravitational wave background which can be produced in models of axion inflation. This potential…
Multiple inflation is a model based on N=1 supergravity wherein there are sudden changes in the mass of the inflaton because it couples to 'flat direction' scalar fields which undergo symmetry breaking phase transitions as the universe…
The scalar mode density perturbations in a the warm inflationary scenario are analysed with a view to predicting the amount of non-gaussianity produced by this scenario. The analysis assumes that the inflaton evolution is strongly damped by…
We investigate the structure of gravitational self-interactions of coherently oscillating axions in the general relativistic framework. A generic action for a massive scalar field in the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker background is first…
The relaxion scenario presents an intriguing extension of the standard model in which the particle introduced to solve to the strong CP problem, the axion, also achieves the dynamical relaxation of the Higgs boson mass term. In this work we…
We study preheating in theories where the inflaton couples derivatively to scalar and gauge fields. Such couplings may dominate in natural models of inflation, in which the flatness of the inflaton potential is related to an approximate…
We study the dynamics of a non-minimally coupled (NMC) scalar spectator field in non-oscillatory inflationary scenarios, where there is a transition from inflation to kination domination (KD). Engineering a realistic finite-duration…
Tensor non-Gaussianity represents an important future probe of the physics of inflation. Inspired by recent works, we elaborate further on the possibility of significant primordial tensor non-Gaussianities sourced by extra fields during…
Primordial SU(2) gauge fields with an isotropic background lead to the production of spin-2 particles during inflation. We provide a unified formalism to compute this effect in all of the inflation models with isotropic SU(2) gauge fields…
The curvaton scenario for the generation of the cosmological curvature perturbation on large scales represents an alternative to the standard slow-roll scenario of inflation in which the observed density perturbations are due to…
In this paper we consider how non-Gaussianity of the primordial density perturbation and the amplitude of gravitational waves from inflation can be used to determine parameters of the curvaton scenario for the origin of structure. We show…
We investigate how coherent oscillations backreact on the evolution of the condensate wave function of ultra-light axions in the non-relativistic regime appropriate to cosmic structure formation. The coherent oscillations induce higher…
In the standard cosmological picture the Universe underwent a brief period of near-exponential expansion, known as Inflation. This provides an explanation for structure formation through the amplification of perturbations by the rapid…
In this work we investigate the quantitative effects of the misalignment kinetic axion on $R^2$ inflation. Due to the fact that the kinetic axion possesses a large kinetic energy which dominates its potential energy, during inflation its…
Pairs of misalignment-produced axions with nearby masses can experience a nonlinear resonance that leads to enhanced direct and astrophysical signatures of axion dark matter. In much of the relevant parameter space, self-interactions cause…
We examine the effective theory of single-field inflation in the limit where the scalar perturbations propagate with a small speed of sound. In this case the non-linearly realized time-translation symmetry of the Lagrangian implies large…
Violating the slow-roll regime during the final stages of inflation can significantly enhance curvature perturbations, a scenario often invoked in models producing primordial black holes and small-scale scalar induced gravitational waves.…
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…