Related papers: A Fly in the SOUP
We analyze various phases of inflation based on the anomaly-induced effective action of gravity (modified Starobinsky model), taking the cosmological constant Lambda and k=0, +/- 1 topologies into account. The total number of the…
We discuss how initial conditions for cosmological evolution can be defined in Loop Quantum Cosmology with massive scalar field and how the presence of the bounce influences the probability of inflation in this theory, compared with General…
I will discuss the development of inflationary theory and its present status, as well as some recent attempts to suggest an alternative to inflation. In particular, I will argue that the ekpyrotic scenario in its original form does not…
In the context of Effective Field Theory, the Hilbert space of states increases in an expanding universe. Hence, the time evolution cannot be unitary. The formation of structure is usually studied using effective field theory techniques. We…
We present counter examples to the claim that the $\lambda \phi^4$ inflaton potential is excluded by recent cosmological data. Finding counter examples requires that the actually observed primordial fluctuations are generated at the onset…
A cubic correction of $f(T)$ gravity, where $T$ is the teleparallel scalar torsion, is considered to describe gravity in spatially flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker model. A scale factor permitting departure from inflation era has been…
Problem of cosmological singularity of general relativity theory is discussed. The possible resolution of this problem in the framework of inflationary cosmology is proposed. Physical conditions leading to bouncing inflationary solutions in…
We consider the description of cosmological dynamics from the onset of inflation by a perfect fluid whose parameters must be consistent with the strength of the enhanced quantum loop effects that can arise during inflation. The source of…
It is accepted by the majority of scientific community that the Universe is currently in an accelerated epoch. In order to explain this shock of late 90's, a lot of dark energy candidates have been proposed. We study in the context of f (R)…
Some recent studies based on numerical relativity simulations claim that slow contraction/ekpyrosis is strongly preferred over inflation as the smoothing mechanism that brought the universe into the homogeneous, isotropic and flat state we…
Inflationary cosmology proposes that the early Universe undergoes accelerated expansion, driven, in simple scenarios, by a single scalar field, or inflaton. The form of the inflaton potential determines the initial spectra of density…
The relaxion scenario presents an intriguing extension of the standard model in which the particle introduced to solve to the strong CP problem, the axion, also achieves the dynamical relaxation of the Higgs boson mass term. In this work we…
We present new exact cosmological inhomogeneous solutions for gravity coupled to a scalar field in a general framework specified by the parameter $\lambda$. The equations of motion (and consequently the solutions) in this framework…
We investigate if the observed small and nearly scale-invariant primordial cosmic perturbation, i.e. the perturbation amplitude $P_\zeta\sim10^{-9}$ and the spectral index $n_s \simeq 0.965$, is typical in the landscape of vacua after…
On the one hand, inflation is an extremely convincing scenario: it solves most cosmological paradoxes and generates fluctuations that became the seeds for the growth of structures. It, however, suffers from a "naturalness" problem:…
We extend the usual gravitational action principle by promoting the bare cosmological constant (CC) from a parameter to a field which can take many possible values. Variation leads to a new integral constraint equation which determines the…
The entropy of the observable universe is increasing. Thus, at earlier times the entropy was lower. However, the cosmic microwave background radiation reveals an apparently high entropy universe close to thermal and chemical equilibrium. A…
Conformal embedding of closed-universe models in a de Sitter background suggests a quantisation condition on the available conformal time. This condition implies that the universe is closed at no greater than the 10% level. When a massive…
The eternal inflation problem continues to be considered one of standard's cosmology most serious shortcomings. This arises when one considers the effects of "quantum fluctuations" (QF) on the zero mode of inflaton field during a Hubble…
We discuss the possibility that the inflationary paradigm, undoubtfully today's best framework to understand all the present cosmological data, may still have some viable challengers. The underlying idea for such discussions is that…