Related papers: Inflation versus Cyclic Predictions for Spectral T…
If observations confirm BICEP2's claim of a tensor-scalar ratio $r\approx 0.2$ on CMB scales, then the inflationary consistency relation $n_{t}=-r/8$ predicts a small negative value for the tensor spectral index $n_t$. We show that future…
Inflationary potentials, with Planckian field excursions, described by a 6th degree polynomial are studied. We solve the Mukhanov-Sasaki equations exactly and employ a probabilistic approach as well as multinomial fitting to analyse the…
We construct a family of simple single-field inflation models consistent with Planck / BICEP Keck bounds which have a parametrically small tensor amplitude and no running of the scalar spectral index. The construction consists of a…
Observations of the cosmic microwave background do not yet determine whether inflation was driven by a slowly-rolling scalar field or involved another physical mechanism. In this paper we discuss the prospects of using the power spectra of…
We present the first attempt to use a combination of CMB, LIGO, and PPTA data to constrain both the tilt and the running of primordial tensor power spectrum through constraints on the gravitational wave energy density generated in the early…
We calculate the scalar spectral index $n_s$ and the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ in a class of recently proposed two-field no-scale inflationary models in supergravity. We show that, in order to obtain correct predictions, it is crucial to…
Within the class of inflationary models, k-inflation represents the most general single field framework that can be associated with an effective quadratic action for the curvature perturbations and a varying speed of sound. The incoming…
We evaluate the large scale polarization of the cosmic microwave background induced, via Thomson scattering prior to decoupling, by nearly scale-invariant spectra of scalar and tensor metric perturbations, such as those predicted by most…
We study an inflation model driven by a triplet of antisymmetric tensor fields, with minimal and nonminimal couplings to gravity. First, we show that the presence of a triplet of antisymmetric tensor fields can provide inherent background…
A new class of inflation models within the context of G-inflation is proposed, in which the standard model Higgs boson can act as an inflaton thanks to Galileon-like non-linear derivative interaction. The generated primordial density…
It is sometimes stated that $n_s = 0.98$ in hybrid inflation; sometimes that it predicts $n_s >1$. A number of authors have consider aspects of Planck scale corrections and argued that they affect these predictions. Here we consider these…
A new model of inflation is described. An unusual form for the inflationary potential is obtained because the inflaton corresponds to a non-trivial path in the configuration space of the two real scalar fields of the model. The model…
Statistical isotropy of primordial perturbations is a common assumption in cosmology, but it is an assumption that should be tested. To this end, we develop cosmic microwave background statistics for a primordial power spectrum that depends…
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…
We consider a minimal scale-invariant extension of the Standard Model of particle physics combined with Unimodular Gravity formulated in \cite{Shaposhnikov:2008xb}. This theory is able to describe not only an inflationary stage, related to…
We propose a multi-natural inflation model in which the single-field inflaton potential consists of two or more sinusoidal potentials that are comparable in size, but have different periodicity with a possible non-zero relative phase. The…
The effective field theory (EFT) of inflation provides an essential picture to explore the effects of the unknown high energy physics in the single scalar field inflation models. For a generic EFT of inflation, possible high energy…
If the inflaton potential has multiple minima, as may be expected in, e.g., the string theory "landscape", inflation predicts a probability distribution for the cosmological parameters describing spatial curvature (Omega_tot), dark energy…
We examine natural inflation without the use of the standard slow-roll approximation by considering the number of physical e-folds $\ln (a_eH_e/aH)$. We show that $\tilde{H} = aH \propto \cos(A \phi/2)^{2/A^2} \sin(A \phi/2)$ produces a…
In cosmic inflation driven by a scalar gauge singlet field with a tree level Higgs potential, the scalar to tensor ratio r is estimated to be larger than 0.036, provided the scalar spectral index n_s >= 0.96. We discuss quantum smearing of…