Related papers: Tracking Curvaton(s)?
The physics of primordial black holes can be affected by the non-Gaussian statistics of the density fluctuations that generate them. Therefore, it is important to have good theoretical control of the higher-order correlation functions for…
The evolution of the quintessence in various stages of the universe, the radiation-, matter-, and quintessence-dominated, is closely related with the tracking behavior and the deceleration parameter of the universe. We gave the explicit…
Primordial fluctuations in the relative number densities of particles, or isocurvature perturbations, are generally well constrained by cosmic microwave background (CMB) data. A less probed mode is the compensated isocurvature perturbation…
It is well-known that the primordial scalar curvature and tensor perturbations, $\zeta$ and $\gamma_{ij}$, are conserved on super-horizon scales in minimal inflation models. However, their wave functional has a rapidly oscillating phase…
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…
One of the strongest arguments against the cosmological constant as an explanation of the current epoch of accelerated cosmic expansion is the existence of an earlier, dynamical acceleration, i.e. inflation. We examine the likelihood that…
We consider Cosmic Microwave Background constraints on inflation models for which the primordial power spectrum is a mixture of perturbations generated by inflaton fluctuations and fluctuations in a curvaton field. If future experiments do…
Observational constraints guide one forcefully to examine models in which the matter density is substantially less than critical density. Particularly noteworthy are those which are consistent with inflation. For these models, microwave…
While the simple picture of a spatially flat, matter plus cosmological constant universe fits current observation of the accelerated expansion, strong consideration has also been given to models with dynamical vacuum energy. We examine the…
Since inflationary perturbations must generically couple to all degrees of freedom present in the early Universe, it is more realistic to view these fluctuations as an open quantum system interacting with an environment. Then, on very…
Inter alia, the high precision WMAP data on Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation marginally indicate that the universe has positively curved (and hence spherical) spatial sections. In this paper, we take this data seriously and consider…
We revisit how super-Hubble cosmological fluctuations induce, at any time in the cosmic history, a non-vanishing spatial curvature of the local background metric. The random nature of these fluctuations promotes the curvature density…
In the ekpyrotic scenario the Universe is initially collapsing, the energy density coming from a scalar field with a negative exponential potential. On the basis of a calculation ignoring the gravitational back-reaction the authors of the…
Universe history in $R^2$-gravity is studied from "beginning" up to the present epoch. It is assumed that initially the curvature scalar $R$ was sufficiently large to induce the proper duration of inflation. Gravitational particle…
The evolution of the curvature perturbation after multi-field inflation is studied in the light of the curvaton mechanism. Past numerical studies show that many-field inflation causes significant evolution of the curvature perturbation…
A new model realisation of the vector curvaton paradigm is presented and analysed. The model consists of a single massive Abelian vector field, with a Maxwell type kinetic term. By assuming that the kinetic function and the mass of the…
We consider a supersymmetric grand unified model which naturally solves the strong CP and mu problems via a Peccei-Quinn symmetry and leads to the standard realization of hybrid inflation. We show that the Peccei-Quinn field of this model…
We derive the first systematic observational constraints on reheating in models of inflation where an additional light scalar field contributes to primordial density perturbations and affects the expansion history during reheating. This…
It is investigated whether a massive Abelian vector field, whose gauge kinetic function is growing during inflation, can be responsible for the generation of the curvature perturbation in the Universe. Particle production is studied and it…
We propose a large class of nonsingular cosmologies of arbitrary spatial curvature whose cosmic history is determined by a primeval dynamical $\Lambda (t)$-term. For all values of the curvature, the models evolve between two extreme de…