Related papers: Inflation models and observation
We carry out numerical investigations of the dynamics and perturbations in the Nflation model of Dimopoulos et al. (2005). This model features large numbers of scalar fields with different masses, which can cooperate to drive inflation…
The presence of multiple fields during inflation might seed a detectable amount of non-Gaussianity in the curvature perturbations, which in turn becomes observable in present data sets like the cosmic microwave background (CMB) or the large…
One of the fundamental questions in inflation is how to characterize the structure of different types of models in the field theoretic landscape. Proposals in this direction include attempts to directly characterize the formal structure of…
Reasonable-looking models of inflation are compared, taking into account the possibility that the curvature perturbation might originate from some "curvaton" field different from the inflaton.
We revisit spectator field models including curvaton and modulated reheating scenarios, specifically focusing on their viability in the new Planck era, based on the derived expression for the spectral index in general spectator field…
We construct explicit models of multi-field inflation in which the primordial metric fluctuations do not necessarily obey Gaussian statistics. These models are realizations of mechanisms in which non-Gaussianity is first generated by a…
We perform the analysis of the trispectrum of curvature perturbations generated by the interactions characterizing a general theory of single-field inflation obtained by effective field theory methods. We find that curvature-generated…
We investigate the observational signatures of many-field inflation and present analytic expressions for the spectral index as a function of the prior. For a given prior we employ the central limit theorem and the horizon crossing…
We study inflationary scenarios driven by a scalar field in the presence of a non-minimal coupling between matter and curvature. We show that the Friedmann equation can be significantly modified when the energy density during inflation…
We study multifield contributions to the scalar power spectrum in an ensemble of six-field inflationary models obtained in string theory. We identify examples in which inflation occurs by chance, near an approximate inflection point, and we…
We show that the prediction for the primordial tensor power spectrum cannot be modified at leading order in derivatives. Indeed, one can always set to unity the speed of propagation of gravitational waves during inflation by a suitable…
We consider the running of the spectral index as a probe of both inflation itself, and of the overall evolution of the very early universe. Surveying a collection of simple single field inflationary models, we confirm that the magnitude of…
We present the first calculation of the Bayesian evidence for different prototypical single field inflationary scenarios, including representative classes of small field and large field models. This approach allows us to compare…
Light scalar fields present during inflation can lead to interesting observable signatures, especially in models with non-equilibrium reheating dynamics. We study a supersymmetric hybrid inflation model with a third scalar whose lightness…
An interacting scalar field with largish coupling to curvature can support a distinctive inflationary universe scenario. Previously this has been discussed for the Standard Model Higgs field, treated classically or in a leading log…
We discuss how primordial non-Gaussianity of the curvature perturbation helps to constrain models of the early universe. Observations are consistent with Gaussian initial conditions, compatible with the predictions of the simplest models of…
We calculate the primordial spectrum of scalar perturbations of the 3-form inflation and we find that the curvature perturbations decay at late times. As as result, although a non-minimally coupled massive 3-form field may drive inflation…
We make an complementary investigation of the primordial trispectrum from exchanging intermediate scalar modes in multi-field inflation models with generalized kinetic terms. Together with the calculation of irreducible contributions to the…
The linear and quadratic perturbations for a scalar-tensor model with non-minimal coupling to curvature, coupling to the Gauss-Bonnet invariant and non-minimal kinetic coupling to the Einstein tensor are developed. The quadratic action for…
We study the background dynamics and primordial perturbation in $\alpha$-attractor-type double inflation. The model is composed of two minimally coupled scalar fields, where each of the fields has a potential of the $\alpha$-attractor type.…