Related papers: CMB and density fluctuations from strings plus inf…
This is a short review of string cosmology. We wish to connect string-scale physics as closely as possible to observables accessible to current or near-future experiments. Our possible best hope to do so is a description of inflation in…
The inflationary paradigm provides a robust description of the peculiar initial conditions which are required for the success of the Hot Big Bang model of cosmology, as well as of the recent precision measurements of temperature…
The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) bispectrum of the temperature anisotropies induced by a network of cosmic strings is derived for small angular scales, under the assumption that the principal cause of temperature fluctuations is the…
Cosmic strings are one-dimensional topological defects which could have been formed in the early stages of our Universe. They triggered a lot of interest, mainly for their cosmological implications: they could offer an alternative to…
We motivate the study of chiral cosmic strings through a scenario of structure formation which mixes D-term inflation and strings. We then discuss some properties of chiral cosmic strings, and results regarding their evolution and possible…
In the standard inflationary paradigm the inhomogeneities observed in the CMB arise from quantum fluctuations of an initially homogeneous and isotropic vacuum state. This picture suffers from two well-known weaknesses. First, it assumes…
In this work we study the imprints of a primordial cosmic string on inflationary power spectrum. Cosmic string induces two distinct contributions on curvature perturbations power spectrum. The first type of correction respects the…
We investigate the cosmic variance of the skewness of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies in an inflationary model which leads to the baryon isocurvature scenario for the cosmic structure formation. In this model, the baryon…
Brane inflation and the production of topological defects at the end of the inflationary phase are discussed. After a description of the inflationary setup we discuss the properties of the cosmic strings produced at the end of inflation.…
We consider a cosmological scenario within the KKLT framework for moduli stabilization in string theory. The universal open string tachyon of decaying non-BPS D-brane configurations is proposed to drive eternal topological inflation.…
In multiple inflation scenario having two inflations with an intermediate matter-dominated phase, the power spectrum is estimated to be enhanced on scales smaller than the horizon size at the beginning of the second inflation, $k > k_{\rm…
A four-dimensional universe, arising from a flux compactification of Type IIB string theory, contains scalar fields with a potential determined by topological and geometric parameters of the internal -hidden- dimensions. We show that…
Detecting the parity-odd, or B-mode, polarization pattern in the cosmic microwave background radiation due to primordial gravity waves is considered to be the final observational key to confirming the inflationary paradigm. The search for…
We present a new and especially powerful signature of cosmic strings and other topological or non-topological defects in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We show that even if defects contribute 1% or less in the…
In forthcoming years, connections between cosmology and particle physics will be made increasingly important with the advent of a new generation of cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments. Here, we review a number of these links. Our…
Cosmic strings, topological defects predicted by high-energy theories, may contribute to the late-time expansion of the Universe, effectively mimicking dynamical dark energy. We investigate four phenomenological extensions of the…
We show that there are inflationary models for which perturbations in the energy momentum tensor, which are of second order in the scalar field, cannot be neglected. We first specify the conditions under which the usual first order…
Vacuum bubbles may nucleate and expand during the cosmic inflation. When inflation ends, the bubbles run into the ambient plasma, producing strong shocks followed by underdensity waves, which propagate outwards. The bubbles themselves…
In this talk I discuss recent developments in moduli stabilisation, SUSY breaking and chiral D-brane models together with several interesting features of cosmological models built in the framework of type IIB string compactifications. I…
Considerable and ongoing effort is made to identify promising scalar field candidates in string theory to drive a cosmological period of inflation. At stake is the possibility that fundamental string parameters could be encoded in…