Related papers: Theoretical Tools for Large Scale Structure
The cosmic web is a complex spatial pattern of walls, filaments, cluster nodes and underdense void regions. It emerged through gravitational amplification from the Gaussian primordial density field. Here we infer analytical expressions for…
We propose an alternative implementation of the curvaton mechanism for generating the curvature perturbations which does not rely on a late decaying scalar decoupled from inflation dynamics. In our mechanism the supersymmetric Higgs scalars…
I present here a review of Large-Scale Structure (LSS) studies using clusters of galaxies. First, I re-evaluate the `pros' and `cons' of using clusters for such studies, especially in this era of large galaxy redshift surveys. Secondly, I…
We develop a field-theoretic description of large-scale structure formation by taking the non-relativistic limit of a canonically transformed, real scalar field which is minimally coupled to scalar gravitational perturbations in…
Observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) are discussed, with particular emphasis on current ground-based experiments and on future satellite, balloon and interferometer experiments. Observational techniques and the effects of…
We focus on the class of cosmological models with a time-evolving vacuum energy density of the form $\rho_\Lambda=C_0+C_1 H+C_2 H^2$, where $H$ is the Hubble rate. Higher powers of $H$ could be important for the early inflationary epoch,…
The dark energy dominated warm dark matter (WDM) model is a promising alternative cosmological scenario. We explore large-scale structure formation in this paradigm. We do this in two different ways: with the halo model approach and with…
These lectures describe how the Standard Model of cosmology ($\Lambda$CDM) has developped, based on observational facts but also on ideas formed in the context of the theory of fundamental interactions, both gravitational and…
The interplay between string theory and early-universe cosmology offers promising avenues to explore high-energy regimes where the standard single-field slow-roll model may no longer provide an accurate description. One intriguing scenario…
It is well known that processes of first order phase transitions may have occurred in the inflationary era. If one or more occurred well before the end of inflation, the nucleated bubbles are stretched to large scales and the primordial…
Cosmologies with Light Massive Relics (LiMRs) as a subdominant component of the dark sector are well-motivated from a particle physics perspective, and can also have implications for the $\sigma_8$ tension between early and late time probes…
The detection of primordial non-Gaussianity could provide a powerful means to test various inflationary scenarios. Although scale-invariant non-Gaussianity (often described by the $f_{NL}$ formalism) is currently best constrained by the…
If the Universe is dominated by cold dark matter and dark energy as in the currently popular LCDM cosmology, it is expected that large scale structures form gradually, with galaxy clusters of mass M > ~10^14 Msun appearing at around 6 Gyrs…
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 the standard picture of cosmological structure formation, the Universe we see today is evolved under the gravitational instability from tiny random fluctuations. In this talk I discuss the onset of non-linearity in the large scale…
We review why the search for a causal explanation of the large scale properties of the universe supports the idea that an extended period of accelerated expansion, called inflation, preceded primordial nucleosynthesis. As a consequence of…
The currently standard theory of cosmic structure formation posits that the present-day clumpy appearance of the universe developed through gravitational amplification of the matter density fluctuations that are generated in the very early…
After two decades of direct dynamical simulation of large-scale structure in the universe, it is safe to say the subject is now mature. Still, there are parts of the problem that are less well developed than others. In general, the…
We propose novel structure formation scenarios based on a non-singular higher curvature cosmological model. The model is motivated by the $R^2$ coupling of a scalar field appearing in the string theory, and in our scenarios the universe has…
It is commonly assumed that the stochastic background of gravitational waves on cosmological scales follows an almost scale-independent power spectrum, as generically predicted by the inflationary paradigm. However, it is not inconceivable…