164 pages, 25 figures, 13 tables, Ph.D. thesis, Work done at Physics and Applied Mathematics Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, Thesis successfully defended on 03/03/2016 at PAMU, ISI, Kolkata, Supervisor: Dr. Supratik Pal. Thesis is based on the works arXiv:1102.4206, arXiv:1108.5676, arXiv:1111.3441, arXiv:1208.4433, arXiv:1209.5883, arXiv:1305.6398, arXiv:1402.1227, arXiv:1402.1251
This thesis compiles the results of six works which deal with - inflationary model building and estimation of cosmological parameters from various field theoretic setup, quantification of reheating temperature, studies of leptogenesis in braneworld and estimation of primordial non-Gaussianity from ${\cal N}=1$ supergravity using $δN$ formalism. We start our discussion with exploring the possibility of MSSM inflation in the light of recent observed data from various D -flat directions using the saddle and inflection point techniques. The effective inflaton potential around saddle point and inflection point have been utilized in estimating the observable parameters and confronting them with WMAP7 and Planck dataset. Next we explore the possibility of inflation from the five dimensional ${\cal N} = 2$ supergravity setup by deriving the effective potential in the context of RS like braneworld model and DBI Galileon. After deriving an four dimensional effective potential, we obtain the inflationary observables from both the scenarios and confront them with the WMAP data. Further we fit the CMB angular power spectra from TT anisotropy and other polarization data obtained from WMAP. Further, we discuss the non-trivial features of reheating from supergravity inspired braneworld model, where the results are to some extent different from that of the usual low energy GR counterpart, because of the modified Friedmann equations in this setup. We explicitly derive the analytical expressions for the reheating temperature and further solve the evolution equation of the number density of thermal gravitino which results in the gravitino abundance. Finally, we study the primordial local type of non-Gaussian features using $δN$ formalism for a generic class of sub-Planckian models dominated by the Hubble-induced corrections within ${\cal N} = 1$ supergravity framework.
I review the "Trans-Planckian Censorship Conjecture" (TCC) and its implications for cosmology, in particular for the inflationary universe scenario. Whereas the inflationary scenario is tightly constrained by the TCC, alternative early universe scenarios are not restricted.
Assuming that superstring theory is the fundamental theory which unifies all forces of Nature at the quantum level, I argue that there are key limitations on the applicability of effective field theory techniques in describing early universe cosmology.
Observational cosmology is in its "golden age" with a vast amount of recent data on the distribution of matter and light in the universe. This data can be used to probe theories of the very early universe. It is small amplitude cosmological fluctuations which encode the information about the very early universe and relate it to current data. Hence, a central topic in these lectures is the "theory of cosmological perturbations", the theory which describes the generation of inhomogeneities in the very early universe and their evolution until the current time. I will apply this theory to three cl…
Cosmological inflation is not the only early universe scenario consistent with current observational data. I will discuss the criteria for a successful early universe cosmology, compare a couple of the proposed scenarios (inflation, bouncing cosmologies, and the {\it emergent} scenario), focusing on how future observational data will be able to distinguish between them. I will argue that we need to go beyond effective field theory in order to understand the early universe, and that principles of superstring theory will yield a nonsingular cosmology.
In these lectures I focus on early universe models which can explain the currently observed structure on large scales. I begin with a survey of inflationary cosmology, the current paradigm for understanding the origin of the universe as we observe it today. I will discuss some progress and problems in inflationary cosmology before moving on to a description of two alternative scenarios - the Matter Bounce and String Gas Cosmology. All early universe models connect to observations via the evolution of cosmological perturbations - a topic which will be discussed in detail in these lectures.
This contribution gives a brief overview of the theoretical ideas underlying our current understanding of the early Universe. Confronting the predictions of the early Universe models with cosmological observations, in particular of the cosmic microwave background fluctuations, will improve our knowledge about the physics of the primordial Universe.
We derive a curved space generalization of a scalar to fermion decay rate with a Yukawa coupling in expanding Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universes. This is done using the full theory of quantum fields in curved spacetime and the added-up transition probability method. It is found that in an expanding universe the usual Minkowskian decay rates are considerably modified for early times. For conformally coupled scalars the decay rate is modified by a positive additive term proportional to the inverse of mass and related to the expansion rate of the Universe. We compare and contrast our results wi…
Torsion arising from fermionic matter in the Einstein-Cartan formulation of general relativity is considered in the context of Robertson-Walker geometries and the early Universe. An ambiguity in the way torsion arising from hot fermionic matter in chiral models should be implemented is highlighted and discussed. In one interpretation, chemical potentials in chiral models can contribute to the Friedmann equation and give a negative contribution to the energy density.
We review and discuss recent work exploring the implications of the Higgs field for early universe cosmology, and vice versa. Depending on the model under consideration the Higgs may be one of a few scalar fields determining the evolution and fate of the Universe, or the Higgs field may be connected to a rich sector of scalar moduli with complicated dynamics. In particular we look at the potential consequences of the Higgs field for inflation and its predictions, for the (meta)stability of the Standard Model vacuum, and for the existence of dynamical selection mechanisms in the landscape.
To further shed light on whether pre-recombination models can resolve the Hubble tension, we explore constraints on the cosmic background evolution that are insensitive to early-universe physics. The analysis of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy has been thought to highly rely on early-universe physics. However, we show that the fact that the sound horizon at recombination being close to that at the end of the drag epoch is insensitive to early-universe physics. This allows us to link the absolute sizes of the two horizons and treat them as free parameters. Jointly, the CMB peak…
Mechanisms for the generation of the matter-antimatter asymmetry and dark matter strongly depend on the reheating temperature T_R, the maximal temperature reached in the early universe. Forthcoming results from the LHC, low energy experiments, astrophysical observations and the Planck satellite will significantly constrain baryogenesis and the nature of dark matter, and thereby provide valuable information about the very early hot universe. At present, a wide range of reheating temperatures is still consistent with observations. We illustrate possible origins of matter and dark matter with fou…
Inflaton and metric fluctuations in the early universe from a 5D vacuum state
在这封信中，我们完成了以前介绍的形式主义，研究规范不变的度量涨落从一个非紧卡鲁扎-克莱因引力理论，研究早期宇宙的演化。度规场和暴胀子场涨落的演化是相互关联的。得到了<δρ/ρ_b $ depends on the coupling of $ Φ $ with $ δ $ and the spectral index of its spectrum is: $ 0.9483 < n_1 < 1$.
In the very early universe, a generalized Schwinger effect can create pairs from both electrical and gravitational fields. The expectation value of fermionic current induced by these newly created pairs has been recently computed in de Sitter spacetime. I will discuss different limiting cases of this result and some of its possible physical interpretations.
In this work, the Friedman equations for hadronic matter in the Robertson-Walker metric in the early Universe are obtained. We consider the hadronic phase, formed after the hadronization of the quark-gluon plasma, that means times from 10^{-6}s to 1s. The set of equations is derived and the behavior of the system is studied considering one approximate analytical solution.
This thesis tackles the vast question of generating accelerated periods of expansion of the universe. Models loosely related were developed in the early and late universe. In the early universe, generalizations of the Schwinger effect were developed in curved (de Sitter) space and some backreaction effects were estimated. In the late universe, a fractal model was developed and confronted to supernovae data. This relies on the idea of an accelerated expanding universe being nothing but a mirage due to inhomogeneities disposed in a fractal (in this particular model) way. Finally a model of inter…
Quantum fluctuations endow spacetime with a foamy texture. The degree of foaminess is dictated by blackhole physics to be of the holographic type. Applied to cosmology, the holographic foam model predicts the existence of dark energy with critical energy density in the current (late) universe, the quanta of which obey infinite statistics. Furthermore we use the deep similarities between turbulence and the spacetime foam phase of strong quantum gravity to argue that the early universe was in a turbulent regime when it underwent a brief cosmic inflation with a "graceful" transition to a laminar …
In this thesis we study early universe in the frame work of M theory. In particular We assume that the early universe is homogeneous, anisotropic, and is dominated by the mutually BPS 22'55' intersecting branes of M theory. We find that, asymptotically, three spatial directions expand to infinity and the remaining spatial directions reach stabilised values. We give a physical description of the stabilisation mechanism.
According to the Big Bang Theory as we go back in time the Universe becomes progressively hotter and denser. This leads us to believe that the early Universe was filled with hot plasma of elementary particles. Among many questions concerning this phase of history of the Universe there are questions of existence and fate of magnetic monopoles and primordial black holes. Static solution of Einstein-Yang-Mills system may be used as a toy model for such a black hole. Using methods of field theory we will show that its existence and regularity depend crucially on the presence of fermions around it.
In this paper, we suggest that the early universe starts from a high-energetic state with a two dimensional description and the state recovers to be four dimensional when the universe evolves into the radiation dominated phase. This scenario is consistent with the recent viewpoint that quantum gravity should be effectively two dimensional in the ultraviolet and recovers to be four dimensional in the infrared. A relationship has been established between the running of effective dimension and that of the entropy inside particle horizon of the universe, i.e., as the effective dimension runs from …
This Astro-2020 White Paper deals with what we might learn from future gravitational wave observations about the early universe phase transitions and their energy scales, primordial black holes, Hubble parameter, dark matter and dark energy, modified theories of gravity and extra dimensions.
We introduce a quantum model for the Universe at its early stages, formulating a mechanism for the expansion of space and matter from a quantum initial condition, with particle interactions and creation driven by algebraic extensions of the Kac-Moody Lie algebra $\mathbf{e_9}$. We investigate Kac-Moody and Borcherds algebras, and we propose a generalization that meets further requirements that we regard as fundamental in quantum gravity.
Solitons formation through classical dynamics of two scalar fields with the potential having a saddle point and one minimum in (2+1)-space-time is discussed. We show that under certain conditions in the early Universe both domain walls and strings can be formed even if scalar fields are inflaton ones.
