Cosmic strings and Natural Inflation

In the present work we discuss cosmic strings in natural inflation. Our analysis is based entirely on the CMB quadrupole temperature anisotropy and on the existing upper bound on the cosmic string tension. Our results show that the allowed range for both parameters of the inflationary model is very different from the range obtained recently if cosmic strings are formed at the same time with inflation, while if strings are formed after inflation we find that the parameters of the inflationary model are similar to the ones obtained recently.Comment: 12 pages, 0 tables, 4 figures, accepted for publication in JHE

Seeking String Theory in the Cosmos

We review the existence, formation and properties of cosmic strings in string theory, the wide variety of observational techniques that are being employed to detect them, and the constraints that current observations impose on string theory models.Comment: 25 pages; contribution for String Cosmology issue of Classical and Quantum Gravity. References added and other improvements. Matches journal versio

Early Cosmology and Fundamental Physics

This is a pedagogical introduction to early cosmology and the host of fundamental physics involved in it (particle physics, grand unification and general relativity). Inflation and the inflaton field are the central theme of this review. The quantum field treatment of the inflaton is presented including its out of equilibrium evolution and the use of nonperturbative methods. The observational predictions for the CMB anisotropies are briefly discussed. Finally, open problems and future perspectives in connection with dark energy and string theory are overviewed.Comment: Based on Lectures at the 9th. Chalonge School in Astrofundamental Physics, Palermo, September 2002, NATO ASI. To appear in the Proceedings, N. S'anchez and Yu. Parijskij editors, Kluwe

Shear viscous effects on the primordial power spectrum from warm inflation

We compute the primordial curvature spectrum generated during warm inflation, including shear viscous effects. The primordial spectrum is dominated by the thermal fluctuations of the radiation bath, sourced by the dissipative term of the inflaton field. The dissipative coefficient \Upsilon, computed from first principles in the close-to-equilibrium approximation, depends in general on the temperature T, and this dependence renders the system of the linear fluctuations coupled. Whenever the dissipative coefficient is larger than the Hubble expansion rate H, there is a growing mode in the fluctuations before horizon crossing. However, dissipation intrinsically means departures from equilibrium, and therefore the presence of a shear viscous pressure in the radiation fluid. This in turn acts as an extra friction term for the radiation fluctuations that tends to damp the growth of the perturbations. Independently of the T functional dependence of the dissipation and the shear viscosity, we find that when the shear viscous coefficient \zeta_s is larger than 3 \rho_r/H at horizon crossing, \rho_r being the radiation energy density, the shear damping effect wins and there is no growing mode in the spectrum.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figure

Intermediate scale supersymmetric inflation, matter and dark energy

We consider supersymmetric inflation models in which inflation occurs at an intermediate scale and which provide a solution to the µ problem and the strong CP problem. Such models are particularly attractive since inflation, baryogenesis and the relic abundance of cold dark matter are all related by a set of parameters which also affect particle physics collider phenomena, neutrino masses and the strong CP problem. For such models the natural situation is a universe containing matter composed of baryons, massive neutrinos, lightest superpartner cold dark matter and axions. The present-day relic abundances of these different forms of matter are (in principle) calculable from the supersymmetric inflation model together with a measurement of the cosmic microwave background temperature and the Hubble constant. From these relic abundances one can deduce the amount of the present-day dark energy density