Related papers: A primer on the ekpyrotic scenario
In this article we study closed inflationary universe models proposed by Linde in a brane world cosmological context. In this scenario we determine and characterize the existence of a closed universe, in presence of one self-interacting…
The possibility to study the M/string theory cosmology via 5d bulk & brane action is investigated. The role of the 4-form field in the theory of BPS branes in 5d is clarified. We describe arguments suggesting that the effective 4d…
I give a brief and elementary introduction to braneworld models with large extra dimensions. Three conceptually distinct scenarios are outlined: (i) Large compact extra dimensions; (ii) Warped extra dimensions; (iii) Infinite-volume extra…
We analyze a general mechanism for producing a nearly scale-invariant spectrum of cosmological curvature perturbations during a contracting phase preceding a big bang, that can be entirely described using 4d effective field theory. The…
We analyse numerically the onset of pre-big bang inflation in an inhomogeneous, spherically symmetric Universe. Adding a small dilatonic perturbation to a trivial (Milne) background, we find that suitable regions of space undergo…
Inflationary cosmology is the leading explanation of the very early universe. Many different models of inflation have been constructed which fit current observational data. In this work theoretical and numerical methods for constraining the…
The big bang model and the history of the early universe according to the grand unified theories are introduced. The shortcomings of big bang are discussed together with their resolution by inflationary cosmology. Inflation, the subsequent…
First, we will study the cosmological perturbations from the brane point of view. It turns out that two types of the extra data are necessary to know the evolution of the system. To fix these data, the analysis of the bulk is needed. So, we…
I describe the features and general properties of bouncing models and the evolution of cosmological perturbations on such backgrounds. I will outline possible observational consequences of the existence of a bounce in the primordial…
We explore within the context of brane cosmology whether it is possible to obtain both early inflation and accelerated expansion during the present epoch through the dynamics of the same scalar field in an exponential potential.…
The pre-big bang scenario describes the evolution of the Universe from an initial state approaching the flat, cold, empty, string perturbative vacuum. The choice of such an initial state is suggested by the present state of our Universe if…
This is a review on cosmological perturbation theory. After an introduction, it presents the problem of gauge transformation. Gauge invariant variables are introduced and the Einstein and conservation equations are written in terms of these…
We discuss some of the cosmological constraints on the evolution and persistence of life in the Universe and in hypothetical universes other than our own. We highlight the role played by the age and size of the universe, and discuss the…
Although the cosmological constant has primarily cosmological consequences, its smallness poses one of the basic problems in particle physics. Various attempts have been made to explain this mystery, but no satisfactory solution has been…
In the Cosmological Slingshot Scenario, our Universe is a D3-brane that extends in the 4d noncompact directions of a warped Calabi-Yau compactification of IIB Supergravity. Early time cosmology corresponds to a period in which the brane…
We calculate the Bayesian evidences for a class of Ekpyrotic universe models, and compare with a model of single field inflation with a Higgs-type potential. Combining parsimony and observational constraints, this gives us a systematic way…
Ekpyrotic models and their cyclic extensions solve the standard cosmological flatness, horizon and homogeneity puzzles by postulating a slowly contracting phase of the universe prior to the big bang. This ekpyrotic phase also manages to…
A cosmological model for the early time Universe is proposed. In this model, the Universe is a wandering brane moving in a warped throat of a Calabi-Yau space. A non-zero angular momentum induces a turning point in the brane trajectory, and…
The standard cosmological model, based on general relativity with an inflationary era, is very effective in accounting for a broad range of observed features of the universe. However, the ongoing puzzles about the nature of dark matter and…
In this paper, we study the curvaton reheating mechanism for an intermediate inflationary universe in brane world cosmology. In contrast to our previous work, we assume that when the universe enters the kination era, it is still in the…