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The 1+3 covariant approach and the covariant gauge-invariant approach to perturbations are used to analyze in depth conformal transformations in cosmology. Such techniques allow us to obtain very interesting insights on the physical content…
We consider the construction of nonsingular Pre-Big-Bang and Ekpyrotic type cosmological models realized by the addition to the action of specific higher-order terms stemming from quantum corrections. We study models involving general…
Four-dimensional gravitational theories derived from an infinite sum of Lovelock curvature invariants, combined with a conformal rescaling of the metric, are equivalent to a subclass of shift-symmetric Horndeski theories that possess a…
We explore bounce scenarios in the framework of homogeneous and isotropic cosmological models with arbitrary spatial curvature in the theory of gravity with non-minimal derivative coupling. As expected, we find that there are no turning…
In Loop Quantum Gravity mathematically rigorous models of full quantum gravity were proposed. In this paper we study a cosmological sector of one of the models describing quantum gravity with positive cosmological constant coupled to…
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…
Recent data suggest that the Universe could be positively curved. Combined with an inflationary stage, this might lead to a curvature bounce instead of the Big Bang. The background evolution is presented, as a function of the parameters…
Primordial non-Gaussianities from multi-field inflation are a leading target for cosmological observations, because of the possible large correlations generated between long and short distances. These signatures are captured by the local…
Late-time cosmology in the extended cuscuton theory is studied, in which gravity is modified while one still has no extra dynamical degrees of freedom other than two tensor modes. We present a simple example admitting analytic solutions for…
In the non-relativistic theory of gravity recently proposed by Horava, the Hamiltonian constraint is not satisfied locally at each point in space. The absence of the local Hamiltonian constraint allows the system to have an extra…
One of the main technical obstacles in constructing a consistent theory of quantum gravity is that the metric itself defines the causal structure required for quantization. This motivates implementing quantum aspects of gravity through an…
If the spatial sections of the Universe are positively curved, extrapolating the inflationary stage backward in time inevitably leads to a classical bounce. This simple scenario, non-singular and free of exotic physics, deserves to be…
The cosmology of general fourth order corrections to Einstein gravity is considered, both for a homogeneous and isotropic background and for general tensor perturbations. It is explicitly shown how the standard cosmological history can be…
We confront various nonsingular bouncing cosmologies with the recently released BICEP2 data and investigate the observational constraints on their parameter space. In particular, within the context of the effective field approach, we…
The inflationary and pre-inflationary evolution of scalar modes of cosmological perturbations in a closed universe is analyzed for a loop quantum cosmology model with an inflationary regime consistent with the constraints on inflation…
Inflationary cosmology with a preceding nonsingular bounce can lead to changes on the primordial density fluctuations. One significant prediction is that the amplitude of the power spectrum may undergo a jump at a critical scale. In this…
We present a new isocurvature mode present in scalar-tensor theories of gravity that corresponds to a regular growing solution in which the energy of the relativistic degrees of freedom and the scalar field that regulates the gravitational…
The squeezed limit of the primordial curvature bispectrum is an extremely sensitive probe of new physics and encodes information about additional fields active during inflation such as their masses and spins. In the conventional setup,…
A scalar-tensor theory of gravity can be made not only to account for the current cosmic acceleration, but also to satisfy solar-system and laboratory constraints, by introducing a non-linear derivative interaction for the scalar field.…
We explore a cosmological model in which dark matter is non-minimally coupled to gravity at the fluid level. While typically subdominant compared to Standard Model forces, such couplings may dominate dark matter dynamics. We show that this…