Related papers: Graceful Exit and Energy Conditions in String Cosm…
We consider the dynamics of Bianchi A scalar field models which undergo inflation. The main question is under which conditions does inflation come to an end and is succeeded by a decelerated epoch. This so-called "graceful exit" from…
These lectures present a brief review of inflationary cosmology, provide an overview of the theory of cosmological perturbations, and then focus on the conceptual problems of the current paradigm of early universe cosmology, thus motivating…
In string theory, the traditional picture of a Universe that emerges from the inflation of a very small and highly curved space-time patch is a possibility, not a necessity: quite different initial conditions are possible, and not…
Cosmic strings are generic cosmological predictions of many extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics, such as a $U(1)^\prime$ symmetry breaking phase transition in the early universe or remnants of superstring theory. Unlike…
In spite of its great phenomenological success, current models of scalar field-driven inflation suffer from important unresolved conceptual issues. New fundamental physics will be required to address these questions. String theory is a…
We complement the low-energy gravi-dilaton effective action of string theory with a non-local, general-covariant dilaton potential, and obtain homogeneous solutions describing a non-singular (bouncing-curvature) cosmology. We then compute,…
This thesis is dedicated to the study of inflationary scenarios based on string theory. Inflation is a brief period of accelerated expansion in the very early Universe which gives natural explanations for problems of the Standard Big Bang…
We studied the cosmological dynamics of a dilatonic ghost condensate field as a source of dark energy, which is non-minimally coupled to gravity through torsion. We performed a detailed phase-space analysis by finding all the critical…
We introduce a very early universe model based on the thermodynamics of a gas of closed strings in a background which is non-perturbative in $\alpha'$. Upon considering the fully $\alpha'$-corrected equations extended to include certain…
A general framework for studying a large class of cosmological solutions of the low-energy limit of type II string theory and of M-theory, with non-trivial Ramond form fields excited, is presented. The framework is applicable to spacetimes…
In this review, a number of approaches to superstring cosmology which make use of key features which distinguish string theory from point particle theories are discussed, with particular emphasis on emergent scenarios. One motivation for…
We investigate the nature of ordinary cosmic vortices in some scalar-tensor extensions of gravity. We find solutions for which the dilaton field condenses inside the vortex core. These solutions can be interpreted as raising the degeneracy…
We compute spectra of particles produced during a dilaton-driven kinetic inflation phase within string cosmology models. The resulting spectra depend on the parameters of the model and on the type of particle and are quite varied, some…
There are at least two serious moduli problems in string cosmology. The first is the possibility that moduli dominate the energy density at the time of nucleosynthesis. The second is that they may not find their minima all together. After…
We write an O(d,d)-covariant Wheeler-De Witt equation in the ($d^2+1$)-dimensional minisuperspace of low-energy cosmological string backgrounds. We discuss explicit examples of transitions between two duality-related cosmological phases,…
We calculate the density and gravitational wave spectrums generated in a version of string cosmology termed pre-big bang scenario. The large scale structures are originated from quantum fluctuations of the metric and dilaton field during a…
Following a suggestion by Gasperini and Veneziano, that String Cosmology can be reconciled with Inflation and, hence, with the Standard Big Bang, we display an analytical solution which possesses four interesting properties: (1) it is…
The First and Second Swampland Conjectures (FSC & SSC) are substantially modified in non-critical string cosmology, in which cosmic time is identified with the time-like Liouville mode of the supercritical string. In this scenario the…
We consider the low-energy effective string action in four dimensions including the leading order-$\alpha'$ terms. An exact homogeneous solution is obtained. It represents a non-singular expanding cosmological model in which the tensor…
We study string-gas cosmology in dilaton gravity, inspired by the fact that it naturally arises in a string theory context. Our main interest is the thermodynamical treatment of the string-gas and the resulting implications for the…