Related papers: Quantization of dilaton cosmology in two dimension…
We present a topological version of two dimensional dilaton supergravity. It is obtained by gauging an extension of the super-Poincar\'e algebra in two space-time dimensions. This algebra is obtained by an unconventional contraction of the…
We present a detailed account of the isomonodromic quantization of dimensionally reduced Einstein gravity with two commuting Killing vectors. This theory constitutes an integrable ``midi-superspace" version of quantum gravity with…
Using the Einstein-Hilbert approximation of asymptotically safe quantum gravity we present a consistent renormalization group based framework for the inclusion of quantum gravitational effects into the cosmological field equations. Relating…
The pre--big bang cosmological scenario is studied within the context of the Brans--Dicke theory of gravity. An epoch of superinflationary expansion may occur in the pre--big bang phase of the Universe's history in a certain region of…
The induced gravity theory is a variant of Jordan--Brans--Dicke theory where the `dilaton' field possesses a potential. It has the unusual feature that in the presence of a false vacuum there is a {\em stable} static solution with the…
A large class of solvable models of dilaton gravity in two space-time dimensions, capable of describing black hole geometry, are analyzed in a unified way as non-linear sigma models possessing a special symmetry. This symmetry, which can be…
Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity in five-dimensional spacetime provides an excellent example of a theory that, while including higher-order curvature corrections to General Relativity, still shares many of its features, such as second-order…
Observations indicate that the universe is effectively flat, but they do not rule out a closed universe. The role of positive curvature is negligible at late times, but can be crucial in the early universe. In particular, positive curvature…
We investigate the quantum Ricci curvature, which was introduced in earlier work, in full, four-dimensional quantum gravity, formulated nonperturbatively in terms of Causal Dynamical Triangulations (CDT). A key finding of the CDT approach…
In this chapter we review the recent developments of realizing $R^2$-like inflation in the framework of a most general UV nonlocal extension of Einstein's general theory of relativity (GR). It is a well-motivated robust approach towards…
The formulation of Brans-Dicke (BD) gravity with matter in the Einstein frame is realized as Einstein gravity with dilaton and dilaton coupled matter. We calculate the one-loop 4d anomaly-induced effective action due to N dilaton- coupled…
We study cosmological solutions to the low-energy effective action of heterotic string theory including possible leading order $\alpha'$ corrections and a potential for the dilaton. We consider the possibility that including such stringy…
Isotropic string cosmology solutions can be classified into two duality related branches: one can be connected smoothly to an expanding Friedman-Robertson-Walker Universe, the other describes accelerated inflation or contraction. We show…
It is generically believed that higher-order curvature corrections to the Einstein-Hilbert action might cure the curvature singularities that plague general relativity. Here we consider Einstein-scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity, the only…
Multidimensional cosmological models with $n~(n > 1)$ Einstein spaces are discussed classically and with respect to canonical quantization. These models are integrable in the case of Ricci flat internal spaces. For negative curvature of the…
In these lectures we report recent work on the exact quantization of dimensionally reduced gravity, i.e. 2d non-linear (G/H)-coset space sigma-models coupled to gravity and a dilaton. Using methods developed in the context of flat space…
We consider cosmological inflation generated by a scalar field slowly rolling off from a de Sitter maximum of its potential. The models belong to the class of hilltop models and represent the most general model of this kind in which the…
We show that the warped de Sitter compactifications are possible under certain conditions in D-dimensional gravitational theory coupled to a dilaton, a form field strength, and a cosmological constant. We find that the solutions of field…
We consider quantum \cal{N} = 4 super Yang-Mills theory interacting in a covariant way with \cal{N} = 4 conformal supergravity. The induced large N effective action for such a theory is calculated on a dilaton-gravitational background using…
Constructing an explicit compactification yielding a metastable de Sitter (dS) vacuum in a UV consistent string theory is an incredibly difficult open problem. Motivated by this issue, as well as the conjecture that all non-supersymmetric…