Related papers: Large $n$-point Functions in Resonant Inflation
We study the production of massive gauge bosons during inflation from the axion-type coupling to the inflaton and the corresponding oscillatory features in the primordial non-Gaussianity. In a window in which both the gauge boson mass and…
In arXiv:0908.4089, we have proposed a model where natural inflation is realized on a steep potential as a consequence of the interaction of the inflaton with gauge fields through an axion-like coupling. In the present work we study the…
We study multifield contributions to the scalar power spectrum in an ensemble of six-field inflationary models obtained in string theory. We identify examples in which inflation occurs by chance, near an approximate inflection point, and we…
The evolution of high order correlation functions of a test scalar field in arbitrary inflationary backgrounds is computed. Whenever possible, exact results are derived from quantum field theory calculations. Taking advantage of the fact…
Loops of inflationary gravitons are known to induce large temporal and spatial logarithms which can cause perturbation theory to break down. Nonlinear sigma models possess the same kind of derivative interactions and induce the same sorts…
Sudden violations of the slow-roll regime during inflation, a natural prediction of many UV-complete inflationary models, give rise to sharp features in the primordial power spectrum. At large scales, these features provide a unique window…
We extend the method of Flow Equations to the Effective Field Theory framework of inflation, in order to investigate the observable predictions of a very broad class of inflationary models. Focusing our attention on the gravitational-wave…
Inflationary scenarios motivated by high-energy physics generically contain a plethora of degrees of freedom beyond the primordial curvature perturbation. The latter interacts in a simple way with what we name "inflationary flavor…
We investigate cosmological consequences of an inflationary model which incorporates a generic seesaw extension (types I and II) of the Standard Model of Particle Physics. A non-minimal coupling between the inflaton field and the Ricci…
The decoherence of quantum fluctuations into classical perturbations during inflation is discussed. A simple quantum mechanical argument, using a spatial particle wavefunction rather than a field description, shows that observable…
A new class of inflationary attractors characterized by a strongly non-geodesic motion has been discovered and explored in the past few years. I describe how they naturally arise in negatively curved field space, allowing to inflate on…
We examine the possibility that an epoch of inflationary expansion induces high-frequency oscillations of Newton's constant, $G$. The effect occurs because inflation can shift the expectation value of a non-minimally coupled,…
A model is developed in which the inflaton potential experiences a sudden small change in its second derivative (the effective mass of the inflaton). An exact treatment demonstrates that the resulting density perturbation has a quasi-flat…
Inflationary scenarios in string theory often involve a large number of light scalar fields, whose presence can enrich the post-inflationary evolution of primordial fluctuations generated during the inflationary epoch. We provide a simple…
We show that the squeezed limit of (N+1)-point functions of primordial correlation functions in which one of the modes has a very small wavenumber can be inferred from the spatial variation of locally measured N-point function. We then show…
If the initial quantum state of the primordial perturbations broke rotational invariance, that would be seen as a statistical anisotropy in the angular correlations of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) temperature…
Axion inflation entails a coupling of the inflaton field to gauge fields through the Chern-Simons term. This results in a strong gauge field production during inflation, which backreacts on the inflaton equation of motion. Here we show that…
These notes present a detailed introduction to Maldacena's calculation of the three-point function generated by the simplest class of inflationary models: those with a single inflaton field whose potential satisfies the slow-roll conditions…
In a recent paper Damour and Mukhanov describe a scenario where inflation may continue during the oscillatory phase. This effect is possible because the scalar field spends a significant fraction of each period of oscillation on the upper…
We study the slow-roll inflation models, where the inflaton slow-rolls along a trajectory whose orthogonal directions are lifted by potentials with masses of order the Hubble parameter. In these models large non-Gaussianities can be…