Related papers: Moduli as Inflatons in Heterotic M-theory
In many moduli stabilization schemes in string theory, the scale of inflation appears to be of the same order as the scale of supersymmetry breaking. For low-scale supersymmetry breaking, therefore, the scale of inflation should also be…
We argue that strong dynamics at the Planck scale can solve the cosmological moduli problem. We discuss its implications for inflation models, and find that a certain type of multi-field inflation model is required for this mechanism to…
Inflationary solutions are constructed in a specific five-dimensional model with boundaries motivated by heterotic M-theory. We concentrate on the case where the vacuum energy is provided by potentials on those boundaries. It is pointed out…
We develop a new class of chaotic inflation models with spontaneously broken conformal invariance. Observational consequences of a broad class of such models are stable with respect to strong deformations of the scalar potential. This…
We present a new version of our racetrack inflation scenario which, unlike our original proposal, is based on an explicit compactification of type IIB string theory: the Calabi-Yau manifold P^4_[1,1,1,6,9]. The axion-dilaton and all complex…
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…
We propose an inflationary scenario, M-flation, in which inflation is driven by three $N\times N$ hermitian matrices $\Phi_i, i=1,2,3$. The inflation potential of our model, which is strongly motivated from string theory, is constructed…
We present a D-term hybrid inflation model, embedded in supergravity with moduli stabilisation. Its novel features allow us to overcome the serious challenges of combining D-term inflation and moduli fields within the same string-motivated…
We perform a systematic analysis of moduli stabilisation for weakly coupled heterotic string theory compactified on manifolds which are Calabi-Yau up to alpha' effects. We review how to fix all geometric and bundle moduli in a…
We go a step further in the search for a consistent and realistic supergravity model of large-field inflation by building a class of models with the following features: during slow-roll, all the scalar fields other than the inflaton are…
We consider a recent model with sub-millimeter sized extra dimensions, where the field that determines the size of the extra dimensions (the radion) also acts as an inflaton. The radion is also a stable modulus, and its coherent…
In this work, we present two classes of inflationary models in the framework of type IIB string theory. The inflatons correspond to blow-up K\"ahler modulus arising from compactifying type IIB string theory on a Calabi-Yau. Using…
We emphasize the importance of effects from heavy fields on supergravity models of inflation. We study, in particular, the backreaction of stabilizer fields and geometric moduli in the presence of supersymmetry breaking. Many effects do not…
We consider supersymmetric compactifications of type IIB and the weakly coupled heterotic string with G resp.H-flux and gaugino condensation in a hidden sector included. We point out that proper inclusion of the non-perturbative effects…
We study the four-dimensional effective theory arising from ten-dimensional heterotic supergravity compactified on manifolds with torsion. In particular, given the heterotic superpotential appropriately corrected at $\mathcal{O}(\alpha')$…
An exploratory study of the cosmology of moduli in string theory. Moduli are argued to be natural inflaton fields and lead to a robust inflationary cosmology in which inflation takes place at the top of domain walls. The amplitude of…
Compactifications of heterotic M-theory are shown to provide solutions to the weak- and axion-scale hierarchy problems as a consequence of warped large extra dimensions. They allow a description that is reminiscent of the so-called…
We critically review the role of cosmological moduli in determining the post-inflationary history of the universe. Moduli are ubiquitous in string and M-theory constructions of beyond the Standard Model physics, where they parametrize the…
We investigate inflation driven by $N$ dynamical five-branes in Heterotic M-theory using the scalar potential derived from the open membrane instanton sector. At leading order the resulting theory can be mapped to power law inflation,…
We present an explicit embedding of axionic N-flation in type IIB string compactifications where most of the Kahler moduli are stabilised by perturbative effects, and so are hierarchically heavier than the corresponding N >> 1 axions whose…