Related papers: Quantum cosmological perturbations in bouncing mod…
We provide an analytical solution to the quantum dynamics of a flat Friedmann-Lema\^itre- Robertson-Walker model with a massless scalar field in the presence of a small and positive cosmological constant, in the context of Loop Quantum…
Quantum cosmological models are commonly described by means of semiclassical approximations in which a smooth evolution of the expectation values of elementary geometry operators replaces the classical and singular dynamics. The advantage…
We propose that cosmological density perturbation may originate from passive fluctuations of the inflaton, which are induced by colored quantum noise due to the coupling of the inflaton to the quantum environment. At small scales, the…
Several scenarios have been proposed in which primordial perturbations could originate from quantum vacuum fluctuations in a phase corresponding to a collapse phase (in an Einstein frame) preceding the Big Bang. I briefly review three…
In effective models of loop quantum cosmology, the holonomy corrections are associated with deformations of space-time symmetries. The most evident manifestation of the deformations is the emergence of an Euclidean phase accompanying the…
A `bouncing' cosmological model is proposed in the context of a Weyl-invariant scalar-tensor (WIST) theory of gravity. In addition to being Weyl-invariant the theory is U(1)-symmetric and has a conserved global charge. The entire cosmic…
Quantum gravitational effects in loop quantum cosmology lead to a resolution of the initial singularity and have the potential to solve the horizon problem and generate a quasi scale-invariant spectrum of density fluctuations. We consider…
In quantum cosmology, one has to select a specific wave function solution of the quantum state equations under consideration in order to obtain concrete results. The simplest choices have been already explored, in different frameworks,…
A union of matter bounce and Ekpyrotic scenarios is often studied in an attempt to combine the most promising features of these two models. Since non-perturbative quantum geometric effects in loop quantum cosmology (LQC) result in natural…
We show that the presence of a temporal electromagnetic field on cosmological scales generates an effective cosmological constant which can account for the accelerated expansion of the universe. Primordial electromagnetic quantum…
By quantising the background as well as the perturbations in a simple one fluid model, we show that there exists an ambiguity in the choice of relevant variables, potentially leading to incompatible observational physical predictions. In a…
We study the conditions under which thermal fluctuations generated in the contracting phase of a non-singular bouncing cosmology can lead to a scale-invariant spectrum of cosmological fluctuations at late times in the expanding phase. We…
Bouncing cosmologies offer an alternative to inflation by resolving the initial singularity through a contracting phase followed by a bounce into expansion. In many such models, the contracting phase is dominated by a single matter…
We consider the evolution of scalar perturbations in a class of non-singular bouncing universes obtained with higher-order corrections to the low-energy bosonic string action. We show that previous studies have relied on a singular…
The cosmological constant problem arises because the magnitude of vacuum energy density predicted by quantum mechanics is about 120 orders of magnitude larger than the value implied by cosmological observations of accelerating cosmic…
We present simple analytic approximations for the linear and fully evolved nonlinear mass power spectrum for spatially flat cold dark matter (CDM) cosmological models with quintessence (Q). Quintessence is a time evolving, spatially…
We present nonsingular, homogeneous and isotropic bouncing solutions of the conformal Galileon model. We show that such solutions necessarily begin with a radiation-dominated contracting phase. This is followed by a quintom scenario in…
The standard formulation of the cosmological constant problem is based on one critical assumption---the spacetime is homogeneous and isotropic, which is true only on cosmological scales. However, this problem is caused by extremely small…
Massless scalar fields originating in a quantum vacuum state acquire a scale-invariant spectrum of fluctuations in a matter-dominated contracting universe. We show that these isocurvature fluctuations transfer to a scale-invariant spectrum…
It is widely believed that quantum field fluctuation in an inflating background creates the primeval seed perturbation which through subsequent evolution leads to the observed large scale structure of the universe. The standard inflationary…