Related papers: The Transplanckian Question and the Casimir Effect
We demonstrate that "natural inflation", also known as "axion inflation", can be compatible with Planck 2018 measurements of the cosmic microwave background, while predicting an exponentially small tensor-to-scalar ratio, e.g., $r\sim…
Inflation generates gravitational waves, which may be observable in the low multipoles of the cosmic microwave background (cmb) anisotropy but only if the inflaton field variation is at least of order the Planck scale. Such a large…
We present a simple inflationary scenario that can produce arbitrarily large spherical underdense or overdense regions embedded in a standard Lambda cold dark matter paradigm, which we refer to as bubbles. We analyze the effect such bubbles…
This is a review of particle-theory models of inflation, and of their predictions for the primordial density perturbation that is thought to be the origin of structure in the Universe. It contains mini-reviews of the relevant observational…
When Inflation is embedded in a fundamental theory, such as string theory, it typically begins when the Universe is already substantially larger than the fundamental scale [such as the one defined by the string length scale]. This is…
The recent Planck results and future releases on the horizon present a key opportunity to address a fundamental question in inflationary cosmology of whether primordial density perturbations have a quantum or thermal origin, i.e. whether…
We analyze the limits on resonant particle production during inflation based upon the power spectrum of fluctuations in matter and the cosmic microwave background. We show that such a model is consistent with features observed in the matter…
The expectation that the physical expansion of space occurs smoothly may be expressed mathematically as a requirement for continuity in the time derivative of the metric scale factor of the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmology. We explore…
Current bounds from the polarization of the CMB predict the scale-invariant gravitational wave (GW) background of inflation to be out of reach for upcoming GW interferometers. This prospect dramatically changes if the inflaton is a…
We present a significant improvement over our previous calculations of the cosmic string contribution to cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectra, with particular focus on sub-WMAP angular scales. These smaller scales are relevant…
We investigate the insensitivity of the predictions of inflationary models with respect to modifications of Planck energy physics. The modification we consider consists in replacing the usual dispersion relation by nonlinear ones. This way…
We investigate the possibility that the amplitude of scalar density perturbations may be damped after inflation. This would imply that CMB anisotropies do not uniquely fix the amplitude of the perturbations generated during inflation and…
The apparent alignment of the cosmic microwave background multipoles on large scales challenges the standard cosmological model. Scalar field inflation is isotropic and cannot account for the observed alignment. We explore the imprints, a…
We reconsider the fine-tuning problem of scalar-driven inflation arising from the need to couple the inflaton to ordinary matter in order to make reheating efficient. Quantum fluctuations of this matter induce Coleman-Weinberg corrections…
The phenomenon of resonant production of particles {\it after} inflation has received much attention in the past few years. In a new application of resonant production of particles, we consider the effect of a resonance {\em during}…
The absence of large-angle correlations in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), confirmed by three independent satellite missions, creates significant tension with the standard model of cosmology. Previous work has…
We explore the observational consequences of resonant particle production during inflation, focusing on its impact on dark matter annihilation signals today. A transient burst of particle production generates localised features in the…
The thermal Casimir force between two metallic plates is known to depend on the description of material properties. For large separations the dissipative Drude model leads to a force a factor of 2 smaller than the lossless plasma model.…
We investigate, in the context of a real massless scalar field in $1+1$ dimensions, models of partially reflecting mirrors simulated by Dirac $\delta-\delta^{\prime}$ point interactions. In the literature, these models do not exhibit full…
Long-wavelength gravitational waves can induce significant temperature anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background. Distinguishing this from anisotropy induced by energy density fluctuations is critical for testing inflationary cosmology…