Related papers: An Open Singularity-Free Cosmological Model with I…
In the standard picture, the inflationary universe is in a supercooled state which ends with a short time, large scale reheating period, after which the universe goes into a radiation dominated stage. An alternative is proposed here in…
With the recent measurements of temperature and polarization anisotropies in the microwave background by WMAP, we have entered a new era of precision cosmology, with the cosmological parameters of a Standard Cosmological Model determined to…
To derive a power spectrum for energy density inhomogeneities in a closed universe, we study a spatially-closed inflation-modified hot big bang model whose evolutionary history is divided into three epochs: an early slowly-rolling scalar…
We propose a technically natural scenario whereby an initially large cosmological constant (c.c.) is relaxed down to the observed value due to the dynamics of a scalar evolving on a very shallow potential. The model crucially relies on a…
Determining the initial state of the universe is a challenging problem in quantum cosmology and we argue that the issue is intractable if the basic postulates of quantum mechanics are not modified in a nontrivial way. Namely a "standard"…
We give a detailed presentation of a recently proposed mechanism of generating the energy scale of inflation by loop effects in quantum cosmology. We discuss the quantum origin of the early inflationary Universe from the no-boundary and…
In the framework of a flat Friedmann-Lema{\^\i}tre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) geometry, we present a nonsingular model (no big bang singularity at finite time) of our universe describing its evolution starting from its early inflationary era…
We perform a cosmological analysis in which we allow the primordial power spectrum of scalar perturbations to assume a shape that is different from the usual power-law predicted by the simplest models of cosmological inflation. We…
There are at least two cosmological constants calling for explanation. The first one describes the quasi-de Sitter inflation in the early universe, and the second describes the current acceleration of the universe associated with dark…
We prove that in the Hartle-Hawking approach to quantum cosmology the existence of an inflationary phase is a general property of minisuperspace models given by a closed Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe containing a massless scalar field…
A first order inflation model where a gauge coupling constant runs as the universe inflates is investigated. This model can solve the graceful-exit problem within Einstein gravity by varying the bubble formation rate. The sufficient…
Inflationary cosmology attempts to provide a natural explanation for the flatness and homogeneity of the observable universe. In the context of reversible (unitary) evolution, this goal is difficult to satisfy, as Liouville's theorem…
We discuss two important modifications of inflationary paradigm. Until very recently we believed that inflation automatically leads to flatness of the universe, Omega = 1. We also thought that post-inflationary phase transitions in GUTs may…
We consider a scenario where the strong coupling constant was changing in the early universe. We attribute this change to a variation in the colour charge within a Bekenstein-like model. Treating the vacuum gluon condensate $<G^2>$ as a…
We analyze constraints on parameters characterizing the pre-inflating universe in an open inflation model with a present slightly open $\Lambda$CDM universe. We employ an analytic model to show that for a broad class of inflation-generating…
We present a novel background-independent framework for cosmic inflation, starting with a matrix model. In this framework, inflation is portrayed as a dynamic process responsible for the generation of both space and time. This stands in…
We present a cosmological model arising from a gravitational theory with an infinite tower of higher-order curvature invariants that can reproduce the entire evolution of the Universe: from inflation to late-time acceleration, without…
We consider the dynamics of a spatially flat universe dominated by a self-interacting nonminimally coupled scalar field. The structure of the phase space and complete phase portraits for the conformal coupling case are given. It is shown…
The inflationary scenario has become the paradigm of early universe cosmology, and - in conjuction with ideas from superstring theory - has led to speculations about an "inflationary multiverse". From a point of view of phenomenology, the…
The cosmological constant $\Lambda$ is a free parameter in Einstein's equations of gravity. We propose to fix its value with a boundary condition: test particles should be free when outside causal contact, e.g. at infinity. Under this…