Related papers: Inflation without an Inflaton II: observational pr…
We investigate primordial non-Gaussianity in the Inflation without an Inflaton (IWI) framework, where scalar perturbations are generated at second order by primordial gravitational waves in Einstein gravity on an exact de Sitter (dS)…
We propose a novel scenario in which scalar perturbations, that seed the large scale structure of the Universe, are generated without relying on a scalar field (the inflaton). In this framework, inflation is driven by a de Sitter space-time…
We find that the amplitude of quantum fluctuations of the invariant de Sitter vacuum coincides exactly with that of the vacuum of a comoving observer for a massless scalar (inflaton) field. We propose redefining the actual physical power…
We examine the spectrum of inflaton fluctuations resulting from any given long period of exponential inflation. Infrared and ultraviolet divergences in the inflaton dispersion summed over all modes do not appear in our approach. We show how…
We present an explicit cosmological model where inflation and dark energy both could arise from the dynamics of the same scalar field. We present our discussion in the framework where the inflaton field $\phi$ attains a nearly constant…
We clarify classical inflaton models by considering them as effective field theories `a la Ginzburg-Landau. In this approach, the WMAP statement excluding the pure phi^4 potential implies the presence of an inflaton mass term at the scale m…
We propose a new class of natural inflation models based on a hidden scale invariance. In a very generic Wilsonian effective field theory with an arbitrary number of scalar fields, which exhibits scale invariance via the dilaton, the…
We present an inflationary model that is geodesically complete and does not suffer from the transplanckian problem. In most inflationary models, massless (conformal) scalar field fluctuations in a deSitter background gives rise to a…
We show that there are inflationary models for which perturbations in the energy momentum tensor, which are of second order in the scalar field, cannot be neglected. We first specify the conditions under which the usual first order…
Recently we have studied in great detail a model of Hybrid Natural Inflation (HNI) by constructing two simple effective field theories. These two versions of the model allow inflationary energy scales as small as the electroweak scale in…
We study the inflationary perturbations in general (classically) scale-invariant theories. Such scenario is motivated by the hierarchy problem and provides natural inflationary potentials and dark matter candidates. We analyse in detail all…
We show how short inflation naturally arises in a non-minimal gravity theory with a scalar field without any potential terms. This field drives inflation solely by its derivatives, which couple to the matter only through the combination…
The energy density correlation function $C(x,y)=<\rho(x)\rho(y)>-<\rho>^2$ and its Fourier transform generated by the gravitational tidal forces of the inflationary de Sitter expansion are derived for a massless or light ($m<<H$) neutral…
(abridged)We present a model which predicts inflation without the presence of inflaton fields, based on the \epsilon R^2 and Starobinsky models. It links the above models to the observable universe, in particular, to the ratio r of tensor…
In the framework of a flat FLRW model we derive an inflationary regime in which the scalar field, laying on the plateau of its potential, admits a linear time dependence and remains close to a constant value. The behaviour of inhomogeneous…
We discuss inflaton decays and reheating in no-scale Starobinsky-like models of inflation, calculating the effective equation-of-state parameter, $w$, during the epoch of inflaton decay, the reheating temperature, $T_{\rm reh}$, and the…
Slow-roll inflation can be studied as an effective field theory. The form of the inflaton potential consistent with the data is V(phi) = N M^4 w(phi/[sqrt{N} M_{Pl}]) where phi is the inflaton field, M is the inflation energy scale, and N ~…
Numerical simulations of the inflationary dynamics are presented here for a single canonical scalar field minimally coupled to gravity. We spell out the basic equations governing the inflationary dynamics in terms of cosmic time $t$ and…
The inflaton field responsible for inflation may not be a canonical fundamental scalar. It is possible that the inflaton is a composite of fermions or it may have a decay width. In these cases the standard procedure for calculating the…
A scale-invariant universe can have a period of accelerated expansion at early times: inflation. We use a frame-invariant approach to calculate inflationary observables in a scale invariant theory of gravity involving two scalar fields -…