3 research outputs found
Primordial fluctuations and cosmological inflation after WMAP 1.0
The observational constraints on the primordial power spectrum have tightened
considerably with the release of the first year analysis of the WMAP
observations, especially when combined with the results from other CMB
experiments and galaxy redshift surveys. These observations allow us to
constrain the physics of cosmological inflation: (i) The data show that the
Hubble distance is almost constant during inflation. While observable modes
cross the Hubble scale, it changes by less than 3% during one e-folding:
d(d_H)/dt < 0.032 at 2 sigma. The distance scale of inflation itself remains
poorly constrained: 1.2 x 10^{-28} cm < d_H < 1 cm. (ii) We present a new
classification of single-field inflationary scenarios (including scenarios
beyond slow-roll inflation), based on physical criteria, namely the behaviour
of the kinetic and total energy densities of the inflaton field. The current
data show no preference for any of the scenarios. (iii) For the first time the
slow-roll assumption could be dropped from the data analysis and replaced by
the more general assumption that the Hubble scale is (almost) constant during
the observable part of inflation. We present simple analytic expressions for
the scalar and tensor power spectra for this very general class of inflation
models and test their accuracy.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures; section on the classification of models in the
plane of tilt and tensor-to-scalar ratio added, references adde
Second Order General Slow-Roll Power Spectrum
Recent combined results from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)
and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) provide a remarkable set of data which
requires more accurate and general investigation. Here we derive formulae for
the power spectrum P(k) of the density perturbations produced during inflation
in the general slow-roll approximation with second order corrections. Also,
using the result, we derive the power spectrum in the standard slow-roll
picture with previously unknown third order corrections.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure ; A typo in Eq. (38) is fixed ; References
expanded and a note adde
Brany Liouville Inflation
We present a specific model for cosmological inflation driven by the
Liouville field in a non-critical supersymmetric string framework, in which the
departure from criticality is due to open strings stretched between the two
moving Type-II 5-branes. We use WMAP and other data on fluctuations in the
cosmic microwave background to fix parameters of the model, such as the
relative separation and velocity of the 5-branes, respecting also the
constraints imposed by data on light propagation from distant gamma-ray
bursters. The model also suggests a small, relaxing component in the present
vacuum energy that may accommodate the breaking of supersymmetry.Comment: 23 pages LATEX, two eps figures incorporated; version accepted for
publication in NJ