Related papers: String theoretic axion coupling and the evolution …
Higher-curvature corrections to the effective gravitational action may leave signatures in the spectrum of primordial tensor perturbations if the inflationary energy scale is sufficiently high. In this paper we further investigate the…
In this work we introduce an effective model of $f(R)$ gravity containing a non-minimal coupling to the axion scalar field. The axion field is described by the misalignment model, in which the primordial $U(1)$ Peccei-Quinn symmetry is…
We consider the linear perturbations for the single scalar field inflation model interacting with an additional triad of scalar fields. The background solutions of the three additional scalar fields depend on spatial coordinates with a…
A gravitational wave background is expected to emerge from the superposition of numerous gravitational wave sources of both astrophysical and cosmological origin. A number of cosmological models can have a parity violation, resulting in the…
Cosmological moduli generically come to dominate the energy density of the early universe, and thereby trigger an early matter dominated era. Such non-standard cosmological histories are expected to have profound effects on the evolution…
We discuss the role of torsion in string theory on inducing pseudoscalar degrees of freedom (axions), which in turn couple to (gravitational) Chern-Simons (CS) anomalous terms. Such interactions can induce inflation, of running vacuum type,…
We study the cosmological evolution of the QCD axion coupled to hidden photons. For a moderately strong coupling, the motion of the axion field leads to an explosive production of hidden photons by tachyonic instability. We use lattice…
Low energy string theory predicts the existence of an axion field which can lead to cosmic birefringence. We solve the electromagnetic wave equations in the presence of such an axion and a dilaton field in order to determine their effect on…
For suitable cosmological backgrounds, thermal fluctuations of a gas of strings can generate a scale-invariant spectrum of cosmological fluctuations without requiring a phase of inflationary expansion. We highlight the key points of this…
The network of cosmic strings generated in a phase transition during inflation enters the scaling regime later than that of usual strings. If it occurs after the recombination, temperature anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background…
Inflation of cosmic gauge and global strings is investigated by numerically solving the combined Einstein and field equations. Above some critical symmetry-breaking scales, the strings undergo inflation along the radial direction as well as…
An important prediction of inflation is the production of a primordial stochastic gravitational wave background. Observing this background is challenging due to the weakness of the signal and the simultaneous presence of an astrophysical…
The evolution of cosmic perturbations in a two-component ultralight axionic universe is investigated. We present the first spectral computation of perturbations in multi-component universes. A particular case composed of light extreme…
We study the imprints of anisotropic inflation on the CMB temperature fluctuations and polarizations. The statistical anisotropy stems not only from the direction dependence of curvature and tensor perturbations, but also from the cross…
We analyze in detail the background cosmological evolution of a scalar field coupled to a massless abelian gauge field through an axial term $\frac{\phi}{f_\gamma} F \tilde{F}$, such as in the case of an axion. Gauge fields in this case are…
It is shown that the evolution of the (Abelian) gauge coupling during an inflationary phase of de Sitter type drives the growth of the two-point function of the magnetic inhomogeneities. After examining the constraints on the variation of…
We study the evolution of simple cosmic string loop solutions in an inflationary universe. We show, for the particular case of circular loops, that periodic solutions do exist in a de Sitter universe, below a critical loop radius $R_c…
In most current models of inflation based on a weakly self-coupled scalar matter field minimally coupled to gravity, the period of inflation lasts so long that, at the beginning of the inflationary period, the physical wavelengths of…
We consider inflation driven by an axion-like particle coupled to an SU(2) gauge sector via a Chern-Simons term. Known as chromo-natural inflation, this scenario is in tension with CMB observations. In order to remedy this fact and preserve…
We show that in scalar field inflationary models, the loop corrections in reheating corresponding to the decay of the inflaton can cause nontrivial superhorizon evolution of the curvature perturbation. The effect turns out to be prominent…