相关论文: String Theory and Inflation
We review some aspects of moduli in string theory. We argue that one should focus on {\it approximate moduli spaces}, and that there is evidence that such spaces exist non-perturbatively. We ask what it would mean for string theory to…
These lectures cover the theoretical structure and phenomenology of some basic mechanisms for inflation. A full treatment of the problem requires `ultraviolet completion' because of the sensitivity of inflation to quantum gravity effects,…
As of today there exist consistent, gauge-invariant string field theories describing all string theories: bosonic open and closed strings, open superstrings, heterotic strings and type II strings. The construction of these theories require…
We propose a scenario for realizing super-Planckian axion decay constants in Calabi-Yau orientifolds of type IIB string theory, leading to large-field inflation. Our construction is a simple embedding in string theory of the mechanism of…
Inflation is now a basic ingredient of the modern cosmology. After reviewing the basic characteristics of inflation, we briefly discuss inflation in string and brane theories, focusing on the problem of the exit from inflation in these…
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…
We derive a class of solutions to the string sigma-model equations for the closed bosonic string. The tachyon field is taken to form a constant condensate and the beta-function equations at one-loop level are solved for the evolution of the…
In the framework of scalar-tensor theories of gravity, we construct a new kind of cosmological model that conflates inflation and ekpyrosis. During a phase of conflation, the universe undergoes accelerated expansion, but with crucial…
We discuss the realization of inflation and resulting cosmological perturbations in the low-energy effective string theory. In order to obtain nearly scale-invariant spectra of density perturbations and a suppressed tensor-to-scalar ratio,…
The recent measurements of cosmological parameters by the Planck collaboration favors inflationary models with a redshifted spectrum and a very low tensor-to-scalar ratio. Two well-studied scenarios in the particle physics/string theory…
A heavy scalar field such as moduli or an inflaton generally mixes with a field responsible for the supersymmetry breaking. We study the scalar decay into the standard model particles and their superpartners, gravitinos, and the…
The string $\alpha^\prime$-correction to the usual Einstein action comprises a Gauss-Bonnet integrand multiplied by non-trivial functions of the modulus field $\chi$ and/or the dilaton field $\phi$. We discuss how the presence of such terms…
We consider a string inspired effective Lagrangian for the graviton and dilaton, containing Einstein gravity at the zero slope limit. The numerical solution of the problem shows asymptotically an inflationary universe. The time is measured…
String-loop effects may generate very weak matter couplings for a (massless) dilaton. We examine limits on the shift of such a dilaton toward its present equilibrium value from big-bang nucleosynthesis and the binary pulsar. On the other…
The perturbative analysis of models of open and closed superstrings presents a number of surprises. For instance, variable numbers of antisymmetric tensors ensure their consistency via generalized Green-Schwarz cancellations and a novel…
It was recently pointed out that the fundamental Planck mass could be close to the TeV scale with the observed weakness of gravity at long distances being due the existence of new sub-millimeter spatial dimensions. In this picture the…
In a recent paper we showed how Starobinsky-like inflation could emerge from dilaton dynamics in brane cosmology scenarios based on string theory, in which our universe is represented as a three-brane and the effective potential acquires a…
A generic feature of string compactifications is the presence of many scalar fields, called moduli. Moduli are usually displaced from their post-inflationary minimum during inflation. Their relaxation to the minimum could lead to the…
Large-field inflation is an interesting and predictive scenario. Its non-trivial embedding in supergravity was intensively studied in the recent literature, whereas its interplay with supersymmetry breaking has been less thoroughly…
Low energy effective actions arising from string theory typically contain many scalar fields, some with a very complicated potential and others with no potential at all. The evolution of these scalars is of great interest. Their late time…