Related papers: The Scalar-Tensor Inflationary Cosmology
We present a successful inflation model based on $\lambda \phi^4$ potential in which a Standard Model (SM) singlet inflaton $\phi$, with mass of around a TeV or less, also plays the role of a weakly interacting scalar dark matter particle…
The inflationary paradigm is an important cornerstone of the concordance cosmological model. However, standard inflation cannot fully address the transition from an early homogeneous and isotropic stage, to another one lacking such…
The main aim of this paper is to provide a qualitative introduction to the cosmic inflation and its relationship with current cosmological observations. The inflationary model solves many of the fundamental problems that challenge the…
Power-law inflation with $a(t) \propto t^m$ is conceptually simple and predicts a scalar tilt $n_s = 1 - 2/m$ compatible with CMB data, but in four-dimensional Einstein gravity it typically yields a tensor-to-scalar ratio $r = 16/m$ that is…
We derive the quantum energy-momentum tensor and the corresponding quantum equation of state for gauge field theory using the effective Lagrangian approach. The energy-momentum tensor has a term proportional to the space-time metric and…
We analyze the energy density fluctuations contributed by scalar fields $\Phi$ with vanishing expectation values, $\langle\Phi\rangle=0$, which are present in addition to the inflaton field. For simplicity we take $\Phi$ to be…
The $R^2$ inflation which is an extension of general relativity (GR) by quadratic scalar curvature introduces a quasi-de Sitter expansion of the early Universe governed by Ricci scalar being an eigenmode of d'Alembertian operator. In this…
We study the cosmology of a toy modified theory of gravity in which gravity shuts off at short distances, as in the fat graviton scenario of Sundrum. In the weak-field limit, the theory is perturbatively local, ghost-free and unitary,…
We propose a model for cosmic inflation which is based on an effective description of strongly interacting, nonsupersymmetric matter within the framework of dynamical abelian projection and centerization. The underlying gauge symmetry is…
We investigate inflation and its scalar perturbation driven by a massive scalar field in the unimodular theory of gravity. We introduce a parameter $\xi$ with which the theory is invariant under general unimodular coordinate…
We often find in the literature solutions to the Friedmann and fluid equations for simple cosmological models during the matter, radiation or cosmological constant dominated epochs. However no solutions appear for the inflationary era…
We prove that in the Hartle-Hawking approach to quantum cosmology the existence of an inflationary phase is a general property of minisuperspace models given by a closed Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe containing a massless scalar field…
We exploit a previous computation of the self-mass-squared from quantum gravity to include quantum corrections to the scalar evolution equation. The plane wave mode functions are shown to receive no significant one loop corrections at late…
A safe way to reheat the universe, in models of natural and quadratic inflation, is through shift symmetric couplings between the inflaton $\phi$ and the Standard Model (SM), since they do not generate loop corrections to the potential…
The conditions under which cosmologies driven by time varying cosmological terms can be described by a scalar field coupled to a perfect fluid are discussed. An algorithm to reconstruct potentials dynamically and thermodynamically analogue…
Quintessential inflation provides a unified description of inflation and dark energy in terms of a single scalar degree of freedom, the cosmon. We present here a comprehensive overview of this appealing paradigm, highlighting its key…
We show that embedding Natural Inflation in a more general scalar-tensor theory, with non-minimal couplings to the Ricci scalar and the kinetic term, alleviates the current tension of Natural Inflation with observational data. The coupling…
Cosmological models with inflation and those with bounce have their own strengths and weaknesses. Here we construct a model in which a phase of bounce is followed by a viable inflationary phase. This incorporates several advantages of both…
In this paper, we investigate models where a scalar field driving inflation is minimally coupled with gravity and it is subjected to a scalar potential. We present several examples of coupling between the field and gravity, and we furnish…
Quantum gravitational back-reaction offers a simultaneous explanation for why the cosmological constant is so small and a natural model of inflation in which scalars play no role. In this talk I review previous work and present a simple…