Related papers: Constraining the inflaton potential with gravitati…
We investigate the production of a spectator scalar dark matter field that is directly coupled to the inflaton during inflation and reheating. We consider two specific inflationary potentials, namely the Starobinsky and T-model of…
Thermal inflation is an attractive solution to the cosmological moduli problem. However, domain walls may be formed after thermal inflation and some mechanisms are needed to eliminate the domain wall before it dominates the Universe. We…
Present data require a spectral index $n\gsim 0.95$ at something like 1-$\sigma$ level. If this lower bound survives it will constrain `new' and `modular' inflation models, while raising it to 1.00 would rule out all of these models plus…
A {\it gauge invariant} combination of LLe {\it sleptons} within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model is one of the few inflaton candidates that can naturally explain population of the observable sector and creation of matter after…
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 investigate the nonlinear dynamics of hybrid inflation models, which are characterized by two real scalar fields interacting quadratically. We start by solving numerically the coupled Klein-Gordon equations in static Minkowski spacetime,…
In order for the inflaton to decay into radiation at the end of inflation, it needs to couple to light matter fields. In this article we determine whether such couplings cause the inflaton to decay during inflation rather than after it. We…
Inspired by the chromo-natural inflation model of Adshead&Wyman, we reshape its scalar content to relax the tension with current observational bounds. Besides an inflaton, the setup includes a spectator sector in which an axion and SU(2)…
We study the production of scalar-induced gravitational waves and primordial black holes in a single-field inflation model with a localized bump or dip feature in the potential. Introducing such a localized feature temporarily decelerates…
We show that fragmentation of the inflaton into long-lived spatially localized oscillon configurations can lead to copious production of black holes. In a single-field inflation model primordial black holes of sublunar mass can form, and…
Adiabatic (curvature) perturbations are produced during a period of cosmological inflation that is driven by a single scalar field, the inflaton. On particle physics grounds -- though -- it is natural to expect that this scalar field is…
After the inflationary phase, the universe enters the preheating phase, during which the inflaton field rolls down its potential and oscillates. When the potential significantly deviates from a parabolic shape at its minimum, these…
Although inflationary models generically predict a flat spectrum of gravitational waves, we point out a general process that produces a sharply peaked spectrum of gravitational radiation. This process is generic for inflationary models with…
The process of reheating the universe after hybrid inflation is extremely violent. It proceeds through the nucleation and subsequent collision of large concentrations of energy density in bubble-like structures, which generate a significant…
Inflation leads us to expect a spectrum of gravitational waves (tensor perturbations) extending to wavelengths much bigger than the present observable horizon. Although these gravity waves are not directly observable, the energy density…
The warm inflation paradigm considers the continuous production of radiation during inflation due to dissipative effects. In its strong dissipation limit, warm inflation gives way to a radiation dominated Universe. High scale inflation then…
It is well known that, in potentials that are quadratic near the minimum but shallower away, such as small $\alpha$ ($\ll M_P^2$) attractors, the inflaton condensate fragments into localized compact objects known as oscillons during…
We consider a model of the early universe which consists of two scalar fields: the inflaton, and a second field which drives the stabilisation of the Planck mass (or gravitational constant). We show that the non-minimal coupling of this…
It has recently been shown that specific non-perturbative effects may lead to an explosive decay of flat direction condensates in supersymmetric theories. We confirm explicitly the efficiency of this process with lattice simulations: after…
We show that it is possible to realize an inflationary scenario even without conversion of the false vacuum energy to radiation. Such cosmological models have a deflationary stage in which $Ha^2$ is decreasing and radiation produced by…