Related papers: COBE, Inflation, and Light Scalars
Models of axion inflation are particularly interesting since they provide a natural justification for the flatness of the potential over a super-Planckian distance, namely the approximate shift-symmetry of the inflaton. In addition, most of…
We point out three correlated predictions of the axion monodromy inflation model: large amplitude of gravitational waves, suppression of power on horizon scales and on scales relevant for the formation of dwarf galaxies. While these…
In quintessential inflationary model, the same master field that drives inflation becomes, later on, the dynamical source of the (present) accelerated expansion. Quintessential inflationary models require a curvature scale at the end of…
We argue that the lack of power exhibited by cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies at large angular scales might be linked to the onset of inflation. We highlight observational features and theoretical hints that support this view,…
We re-examine the gravitational wave background resulting from inflation and its effect on the cosmic microwave background radiation. The new COBE measurement of a cosmic background quadrupole anisotropy places an upper limit on the vacuum…
Inflationary models predict a correlation between primordial density perturbations (scalar metric perturbations) and gravitational waves (tensor metric perturbations) in the form of a scalar-scalar-tensor three-point correlation, or…
The determination of the inflationary energy scale represents one of the first step towards the understanding of the early Universe physics. The (very mild) non-Gaussian signals that arise from any inflation model carry information about…
We show that the anisotropies in the spectrum of gravitational waves induced by scalar modes after the end of inflation in canonical, single-field models are completely determined by the tilt of the scalar and tensor power spectra. The…
In principle, the tensor metric (gravity-wave) perturbations that arise in inflationary models can, beyond probing the underlying inflationary model, provide information about the Universe: ionization history, presence of a cosmological…
Long-wavelength gravitational waves can induce significant temperature anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background. Distinguishing this from anisotropy induced by energy density fluctuations is critical for testing inflationary cosmology…
We study adiabatic and isocurvature perturbations produced during a period of cosmological inflation. We compute the power spectra and cross spectra of the curvature and isocurvature modes, as well as the tensor perturbation spectrum in…
It is shown that double inflation (two minimally coupled massive scalar fields) can produce correlated adiabatic and isocurvature primordial perturbations. Depending on the two relevant parameters of the model, the contributions to the…
Solid inflation is an effective field theory of inflation in which isotropy and homogeneity are accomplished via a specific combination of anisotropic sources (three scalar fields that individually break isotropy). This results in specific…
Detection of the tensor perturbations predicted in inflationary models is important for testing inflation as well as for reconstructing the inflationary potential. We show that because of cosmic variance the tensor contribution to the…
In inflation cosmologies, cosmic structure develops through the gravitational instability of the inevitable quantum noise in primordial scalar fields. I show how the acceleration of the universe defines the shape of the primordial spectrum…
Correlated adiabatic and isocurvature perturbation modes are produced during inflation through an oscillation mechanism when extra scalar degrees of freedom other than the inflaton field are present. We show that this correlation…
In standard inflationary cosmology, scalar and tensor perturbations grew as the Universe expanded and froze when their wavelengths exceeded the Hubble horizon, producing a tell-tale signature in the fluctuation spectrum and amplitude of the…
We propose a new source for the cosmological density perturbation which is passive fluctuations of the inflaton driven dynamically by a colored quantum noise as a result of its coupling to other massive quantum fields. The created…
In an inflationary regime driven by a free massive inflaton we derive within a genuinely gauge invariant approach the backreaction effects due to long wavelength scalar fluctuations on the effective Hubble factor and equation of state with…
We explain why it is so difficult and perhaps even impossible to increase the cosmological tensor-to-scalar perturbation ratio during the post-inflationary evolution of the universe. Nevertheless, contrary to some recent claims, tensor…