Related papers: Stability of Flat Space to Singular Instantons
We study the details of eternal inflation in the presence of a spectator Higgs field within the framework of the minimal Standard Model. We have recently shown that in the presence of scalar field(s) which allow inflation only within a…
We have recently proposed a simple relativistic theory which reduces to modified Newtonian dynamics for the weak-field quasistatic situations applied to galaxies, and to cosmological behavior as in the $\Lambda$CDM model, yielding a…
If the Hartle-Hawking wave function is the correct boundary condition of our universe, the history of our universe will be well approximated by an instanton. Although this instanton should be classicalized at infinity, as long as we are…
We study the fate of a false vacuum in the case of a potential that contains a portion which is quartic and unbounded. We first prove that an $O(4)$ invariant instanton with the Coleman boundary conditions does not exist in this case. This,…
Within the $\alpha$-attractors framework we investigate scalar potentials with the same pole as the one featured in the kinetic term. We show that, in field space, this leads to directions without a plateau. Using this, we present a…
We suggest a new explanation for the observed large scale flatness, homogeneity and isotropy of the universe. The basic ingredients are elementary and well-known, namely Einstein's theory of gravity and Hawking's method of computing…
In [1] a new cosmological model is proposed with no big bang singularity in the past, though past geodesically incomplete. This model starts with an inflationary era, follows with a stiff matter dominated period and evolves to accelerated…
We model A_k and D_k asymptotically locally flat gravitational instantons on the moduli spaces of solutions of U(2) Bogomolny equations with prescribed singularities. We study these moduli spaces using Ward correspondence and find their…
We study Ricci-flat perturbations of gravitational instantons of Petrov type D. Analogously to the Lorentzian case, the Weyl curvature scalars of extreme spin-weight satisfy a Riemannian version of the separable Teukolsky equation. As a…
We consider the vacuum decay of the flat Minkowski space to an anti-de Sitter space. We find a one-parameter family of potentials that allow exact, analytical instanton solutions describing tunneling without barriers in the presence of…
We use the 3+1 formalism of numerical relativity to investigate the robustness of Starobinsky and Higgs inflation to inhomogeneous initial conditions, in the form of either field gradient or kinetic energy density. Sub-Hubble and…
We point out that the horizon problem encountered in standard text-books or review papers on cosmology is, in general, derived for world models based on Robertson-Walker line element where homogeneity and isotropy of the universe -- \`a la…
The viability of a given model for inflation is determined not only by the form of the inflaton potential, but also by the initial inflaton field configuration. In many models, field configurations which are otherwise well-motivated…
Inflationary cosmology attempts to provide a natural explanation for the flatness and homogeneity of the observable universe. In the context of reversible (unitary) evolution, this goal is difficult to satisfy, as Liouville's theorem…
We investigate the entanglement due to geometric corrections in particle creation during inflation. To do so, we propose a single-field inflationary scenario, nonminimally coupled to the scalar curvature of spacetime. We require particle…
Accurate simulations of ice sheet dynamics, mantle convection, lava flow, and other highly viscous free-surface flows involve solving the coupled Stokes/free-surface equations. In this paper, we theoretically analyze the stability and…
We investigate oscillating instanton solutions of a self-gravitating scalar field between degenerate vacua. We show that there exist O(4)-symmetric oscillating solutions in a de Sitter background. The geometry of this solution is finite and…
It has been recently pointed out by Mithani-Vilenkin that certain emergent universe scenarios which are classically stable are nevertheless unstable semiclassically to collapse. Here, we show that there is a class of emergent universes…
In a previous paper we proposed a new approach to the beginning of inflation -- a lingering universe. The universe begins in a lingering state with a nearly vanishing Hubble parameter. This calls into question the absolute age of the…
Within the framework of flux compactifications, we construct an instanton describing the quantum creation of an open universe from nothing. The solution has many features in common with the smooth 6d bubble of nothing solutions discussed…