Related papers: Relaxing Constraints on Inflation Models with Curv…
In the standard inflationary paradigm, cosmological density perturbations are generated as quantum fluctuations in the early Universe, but then undergo a quantum-to-classical transition. A key role in this transition is played by squeezing…
We study a ghost-free model of massive vector curvaton proposed in the literature, where the quick decrease of the vector background expectation value is avoided by a suitable choice of kinetic and mass functions. The curvaton perturbations…
Using renormalization-group flow and cosmological constraints on inflation models, we exploit a unique connection between cosmological inflation and the dynamical mass of dark-matter particles in the luminogenesis model, a unification model…
The scale--independence of the primordial curvature perturbation suggests that it comes from the vacuum fluctuation during inflation of a light scalar field. This field may be the inflaton, or a different `curvaton' field. The observation…
In this paper, we study the curvaton reheating mechanism for an intermediate inflationary universe in brane world cosmology. In contrast to our previous work, we assume that when the universe enters the kination era, it is still in the…
We investigate the possibility that the primordial perturbation has two sources: the inflaton and a spectator field, which is not dynamically important during inflation but which after inflation can contribute to the curvature perturbation.…
A short introduction to structure formation is given, followed by a discussion of the possible characteristics of the initial perturbations assuming a generic inflationary origin. Observational data related to large-scale structure and the…
By means of Bayesian techniques, we study how a premature ending of inflation, motivated by geometrical destabilization, affects the observational evidences of typical inflationary models. Large field models are worsened, and inflection…
We present a new general mechanism for generating curvature perturbations after inflation. Our model is based on the simple assumption that a field that starts to oscillate after inflation has a potential characterized by an underlying…
Quantum gravitational back-reaction offers the potential of simultaneously resolving the problem of the cosmological constant and providing a natural model of inflation in which scalars play no special role. In this model inflation begins…
An analysis of the decoherence of quantum fluctuations shows that production of classical adiabatic density perturbations may not take place in models of power-law inflation with power 1< p < 3. Some consequences for models of extended…
Modulated (p)reheating is thought to be an alternative mechanism for producing super-horizon curvature perturbations in CMB. But large non-gaussianity and iso-curvature perturbations produced by this mechanism rule out its acceptability as…
This review article aims at presenting the theory of inflation. We first describe the background spacetime behavior during the slow-roll phase and analyze how inflation ends and the Universe reheats. Then, we present the theory of…
We study the stability of an inflaton condensate in the presence of attractive inflaton self-interactions, in order to determine analytical conditions on the self-interaction couplings under which the condensate undergoes fragmentation. As…
Inflation universally produces classical almost scale free Gaussian inhomogeneities of any light scalars. Assuming the coupling constants at the time of inflation depend on some light moduli fields, we encounter the generation of modulated…
Attention has been recently drawn towards models in which inflation and quintessence schemes are unified. In such `quintessential inflation' models, a unique scalar field is required to play both the role of the inflaton and of the…
We examine extended inflation models enhanced by the addition of a coupling between the inflaton field and the space-time curvature. We examine two types of model, where the underlying inflaton potential takes on second-order and…
In the inflationary universe, there can be light fields other than the inflaton. We explore a possibility that such light fields source the primordial perturbations, while minimally affecting the inflaton dynamics. We show that during…
Since a positive future detection of non-linearity in the cosmic microwave background anisotropy pattern might allow to descriminate among different mechanisms giving rise to cosmological adiabatic perturbations, we study the evolution of…
The discovery of many novel realizations of the inflationary universe paradigm has led to a degeneracy problem: many different inflationary Lagrangians generate the same perturbation spectra. Resolving this problem requires the future…