Related papers: Anomaly-induced effective action for gravity and i…
The quantum contributions to the gravitational action are relatively easy to calculate in the higher derivative sector of the theory. However, the applications to the post-inflationary cosmology and astrophysics require the corrections to…
We investigate the circumstances under which cosmic inflation can arise from very inhomogeneous initial conditions using numerical relativity simulations. Previous studies have not considered cases with non-zero momentum density due to…
Various scenarios of the initial inflation of the universe are distinguished by the choice of a scalar field {\em potential} $U(\phi)$ which simulates a {\it temporarily} non--vanishing {\em cosmological term}. Our new method, which…
We propose a cosmological framework in which neutrino masses evolve dynamically through coupling with a scalar field that simultaneously drives inflation. The neutrino mass is modeled as a power-law, exponential, or hybrid function of the…
We review recent trends on inflationary dynamics in the context of viable modified gravity theories. After providing a general overview of the inflationary paradigm emphasizing on what problems of hot Big Bang theory inflation solves, and a…
We investigate chaotic inflation models with two scalar fields, such that one field (the inflaton) rolls while the other is trapped in a false vacuum state. The false vacuum becomes unstable when the inflaton field falls below some critical…
We show that inflation which is dominated by the D-term density avoids the `slow-roll' problem of inflation in supergravity. Such an inflationary scenario can naturally emerge in theories with non-anomalous or anomalous U(1) gauge symmetry.…
We consider inflation in a universe with a positive cosmological constant and a nonminimally coupled scalar field, in which the field couples both quadratically and quartically to the Ricci scalar. When considered in the Einstein frame and…
In second order perturbation theory different definitions are known of gauge invariant perturbations in single field inflationary models. Consequently the corresponding gauge invariant cubic actions do not have the same form. Here we show…
During inflation explicit perturbative computations of quantum field theories which contain massless, non-conformal fields exhibit secular effects that grow as powers of the logarithm of the inflationary scale factor. Starobinskii's…
We propose that the solution to the cosmological vacuum energy puzzle may come from the infrared sector of the effective theory of gravity, where the impact of the trace anomaly is of upmost relevance. We proceed by introducing two…
We investigate the pre-inflationary dynamics of inflation with the Starobinsky potential, favored by recent data from the Planck mission, using techniques developed to study cosmological perturbations on quantum spacetimes in the framework…
We review the unification of early-time inflation with late-time acceleration in several local modified gravity models which pass Solar System and cosmological tests. It is also demonstrated that account of non-local gravitational…
The mechanism of the initial inflation of the universe is based on gravitationally coupled scalar fields $\phi$. Various scenarios are distinguished by the choice of an {\it effective self--interaction potential} $U(\phi)$ which simulates a…
We investigate the cosmological consequences of a theory of induced gravity in which the scalar field is identified with the Higgs field of the first symmetry breaking of a mi\-ni\-mal SU(5) GUT. The mass of the X-boson determines a great…
This thesis is dedicated to studying cosmological inflation, which is a period of accelerated expansion in the very early Universe that is required to explain the observed anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background. Inflation, when…
The emergence of time in the matter-gravity system is addressed within the context of the inflationary paradigm. A quantum minisuperspace-homogeneous minimally coupled inflaton system is studied with suitable initial conditions leading to…
A problematic feature of low energy scale inflationary models, such as Starobinsky inflation, in a spatially closed universe is the occurrence of a recollapse and a big crunch singularity before inflation can even set in. In a recent work…
Cosmic Inflation provides an attractive framework for understanding the early universe and the cosmic microwave background. It can readily involve energies close to the scale at which Quantum Gravity effects become important. General…
Effective field theory is a powerful organizing principle that allows to describe physics below a certain scale model-independently. Above that energy scale, identified with the cutoff, the EFT description breaks down and new physics is…