Radion Assisted Gauge Inflation

We propose an extension to the recently proposed extranatural or gauge inflation scenario in which the radius modulus field around which the Wilson loop is wrapped assists inflation as it shrinks. We discuss how this might lead to more generic initial conditions for inflation.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

Early Ceramics in Anatolia: Implications for the Production and Use of the Earliest Pottery. The Evidence from Boncuklu Höyük

Fragments of possible fired clay found at Boncuklu Höyük, central Turkey, appear to derive from rudimentary vessels, despite the later ninth- and early eighth-millennium cal. bc and thus ‘Aceramic’ dates for the site. This paper will examine the evidence for such fired clay vessels at Boncuklu and consider their implications as examples of some of the earliest pottery in Anatolia. The discussion will examine contextual evidence for the role of these fragments and consider their relative rarity at the site and the implications for the marked widespread adoption of pottery in southwest Asia c. 7000–6700 cal. bc

Temporal variation of coupling constants and nucleosynthesis

We investigate the triple-alpha process and the Oklo phenomenon to obtain constraints on possible cosmological time variations of fundamental constants. Specifically we study cosmological temporal constraints for the fine structure constant and nucleon and meson masses.Comment: 4 pages. Proceedings of the Nuclear Physics in Astrophysics Conference, Debrecen, Hungary, September 30 - October 3, 2002. To be published in Nuc. Phys.