Related papers: The Radionactive Universe
We propose a non-oscillatory no-scale supergravity model of inflation (NO-NO inflation) in which the inflaton does not oscillate at the end of the inflationary era. Instead, the Universe is then dominated by the inflaton kinetic energy…
Based on the results from numerous astrophysics experiments, it is currently believed that the majority of matter in the Universe is in some unknown form, known as dark matter. In the past it has been common to model dark matter as a…
The brightnesses of supernovae are commonly understood to indicate that cosmological expansion is accelerating due to dark energy. However the entire discussion presumes a perfectly transparent universe because no effects of reddening…
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…
Oscillons are massive, long-lived, localized excitations of a scalar field. We show that in a large class of well-motivated single-field models, inflation is followed by self-resonance, leading to copious oscillon generation and a lengthy…
In cosmological scenarios with thermal inflation, extra eras of moduli matter domination, thermal inflation and flaton matter domination exist between primordial inflation and the radiation domination of Big Bang nucleosynthesis. During…
We present cosmological perturbation theory in neutrinos probe interacting dark-energy models, and calculate cosmic microwave background anisotropies and matter power spectrum. In these models, the evolution of the mass of neutrinos is…
In the context of a homogeneous universe, we note that the appearance of aggressively expanding advanced life is geometrically similar to the process of nucleation and bubble growth in a first-order cosmological phase transition. We exploit…
Scalar-tensor theories of gravity that embrace conformal coupling to the scalar curvature are the focal point of cosmology on discussions of inflation and late-time accelerating universe. Although there exists a stringent nucleo-synthesis…
The Universe may pass through an effectively matter-dominated epoch between inflation and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis during which gravitationally bound structures can form on subhorizon scales. In particular, the inflaton field can collapse…
Recent observations indicate that the Universe is not transparent but partially opaque due to absorption of light by ambient cosmic dust. This implies that the Friedmann equations valid for the transparent universe must be modified for the…
The radial mode of n extra compact dimensions (the radion, b) can cause inflation in theories where the fundamental gravity scale, M, is smaller than the Planck scale M_P. For radion potentials V(b) with a simple polynomial form, to get the…
Nonlinear electrodynamics with two dimensional parameters is studied. The range of electromagnetic fields when principles of causality, unitarity and the classical stability hold, are obtained. A singularity of the electric field at the…
Multidimensionality of our Universe is one of the most intriguing assumption in modern physics. It follows naturally from theories unifying different fundamental interactions with gravity, e.g. M/string theory. The idea has received a great…
We study the cosmological constraints on unparticle interactions and the temperature of the Universe for the case where unparticle states can be modelled as continuous mass particles with lifetime > 1s. By considering thermal background…
If the spatial curvature of the universe is positive, then the curvature term will always dominate at early enough times in a slow-rolling inflationary epoch. This enhances inflationary effects and hence puts limits on the possible number…
The traditional "explanation" for the observed acceleration of the universe is the existence of a positive cosmological constant. However, this can hardly be a truly convincing explanation, as an expanding universe is not expected to have a…
We study the cosmological perturbations in teleparallel dark energy models in which there is a dynamical scalar field with a non-minimal coupling to gravity. We find that the propagating degrees of freedom are the same as in quintessence…
The most stringent bounds on the absolute neutrino mass scale come from cosmological data. These bounds are made possible because massive relic neutrinos affect the expansion history of the universe and lead to a suppression of matter…
Understanding the behavior of the universe at large depends critically on insights about the smallest units of matter and their fundamental interactions. Inflationary cosmology is a highly successful framework for exploring these…