String Theory and Cosmology

We discuss the main cosmological implications of considering string-loop effects and a potential for the dilaton in the lowest order string effective action. Our framework is based on the effective model arising from regarding homogeneous and isotropic dilaton, metric and Yang-Mills field configurations. The issues of inflation, entropy crisis and the Polonyi problem as well as the problem of the cosmological constant are discussed.Comment: 7 pages, plain Tex, no figure

On a possible solution for the Polonyi problem in string cosmology

We establish the main features of homogeneous and isotropic dilaton, metric and Yang-Mills configurations in a cosmological framework. We identify a new energy exchange term between the dilaton and the Yang-Mills field which may lead to a possible solution to the Polonyi problem in 4-dimensional string models.Comment: plain Tex, 4 pages. Talk presented at the 7th Marcel Grossman Meeting, July 1994, Stanford, USA, to appear in the proceeding

Constraints on Supergravity Chaotic Inflationary Models

We discuss, in the context of $N=1$ hidden sector non-minimal supergravity chaotic inflationary models, constraints on the parameters of a polynomial superpotential resulting from existing bounds on the reheating temperature and on the amplitude of the primordial energy density fluctuations as inferred from COBE. We present a specific two-parameter chaotic inflationary model which satisfies these constraints and discuss a possible scenario for adequate baryon asymmetry generation.Comment: Latex file, 10 pages; important changes and references adde

Generalized Chaplygin Gas Model: Dark Energy - Dark Matter Unification and CMBR Constraints

The generalized Chaplygin gas (GCG) model allows for an unified description of the recent accelerated expansion of the Universe and the evolution of energy density perturbations. This dark energy - dark matter unification is achieved through an exotic background fluid whose equation of state is given by $p = - A/\rho^{\alpha}$, where $A$ is a positive constant and $0 < \alpha \le 1$. Stringent constraints on the model parameters can be obtained from recent WMAP and BOOMERanG bounds on the locations of the first few peaks and troughs of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) power spectrum as well as SNe Ia data.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures; essay selected for an honorable mention by the Gravity Research Foundation, 200