Related papers: Inflation Deflation and Frame-Independence in Stri…
We present a study of open inflation cosmological scenarios in which cosmic strings form betwen the two inflationary epochs. It is shown that in these models strings are stretched outside the horizon due to the inflationary expansion but…
We explore inflationary cosmology in a theory where there are two scalar fields which non-minimally couple to the Ricci scalar and an additional $R^2$ term, which breaks the conformal invariance. Particularly, we investigate the slow-roll…
Assuming that a scalar field controls the inflationary era, we examine the combined effects of string and $f(R)$ gravity corrections on the inflationary dynamics of canonical scalar field inflation, imposing the constraint that the speed of…
The main aim of this paper is to provide a qualitative introduction to the cosmic inflation and its relationship with current cosmological observations. The inflationary model solves many of the fundamental problems that challenge the…
We discuss a new mechanism of obtaining a period of cosmological inflation in the context of string theory. This mechanism is based on embedded defects which form dynamically on higher dimensional D-branes. Such defects generate topological…
We analyze the possibility of realizing inflation with a subsequent dS vacuum in the K\"ahler uplifting scenario. The inclusion of several quantum corrections to the 4d effective action evades previous no-go theorems and allows for…
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…
In type IIB Fibre Inflation models the inflaton is a Kaehler modulus which is kinetically coupled to the corresponding axion. In this setup the curvature of the field space induces tachyonic isocurvature perturbations normal to the…
We analyse the cosmological implications of brane-antibrane systems in string-theoretic orbifold and orientifold models. In a class of realistic models, consistency conditions require branes and antibranes to be stuck at different fixed…
A scale-invariant universe can have a period of accelerated expansion at early times: inflation. We use a frame-invariant approach to calculate inflationary observables in a scale invariant theory of gravity involving two scalar fields -…
In this lecture I will review the present status of inflation within string-based brane-world scenarios. The idea is to start from a supersymmetric configuration with two parallel static Dp-branes, and slightly break the supersymmetry…
The inflationary paradigm, although very successful phenomenologically, suffers from several conceptual problems which motivate the search for alternative scenarios of early universe cosmology. Here, two possible alternatives will be…
We study stochastic inflation in the presence of a dynamical gravitational constant. We describe the Arnowitt--Deser--Misner formalism for Jordan--Brans--Dicke theory of gravity with an inflaton field. The inflaton and dilaton scalar fields…
Various scenarios of the initial inflation of the universe are distinguished by the choice of a scalar field {\em potential} $U(\phi)$ which simulates a {\it temporarily} non--vanishing {\em cosmological term}. Our new method, which…
A string theory based inflationary model is developed where the inflaton interacts with a multitude of massive string level states causing dissipation of vacuum energy. Inflation terminates in a warm Universe without the need for reheating.
We compute the spectrum of cosmological perturbations in a scenario in which inflation is driven by radiation in a non-commutative space-time. In this scenario, the non-commutativity of space and time leads to a modified dispersion relation…
A combined BCDE (Brans-Dicke and Einstein-Cartan) theory with lambda-term is developed through Raychaudhuri's equation, for inflationary scenario. It involves a variable cosmological constant, which decreases with time, jointly with energy…
In spite of the phenomenological successes of the inflationary universe scenario, the current realizations of inflation making use of scalar fields lead to serious conceptual problems which are reviewed in this lecture. String theory may…
We revisit phenomenological as well as string-theoretical aspects of D-brane inflation cosmological models. Phenomenologically these models stand out on par with $\alpha$-attractors, as models with Planck-compatible values of $n_s$, moving…
Based on a previously derived superstring model possessing a cosmological sector that mimics Starobinsky inflation, we analyze several questions addressed in the recent literature: the generation of an effective $R^2$-term, the stability of…