HIGH ENERGY THEORY / RELATIVITY / COSMOLOGY SEMINARS
Spring 2008
Monday April 28 Seminar at 1.00pm :
GHAZAL GESHNIZJANI (Perimeter Institute)
Title : Constraining the Inflationary Action with Cosmological Observations
Abstract:
If inflation is to be considered in an unbiased way, as possibly originating from one of a wide range of underlying theories, then observations need not be simply applied to reconstructing the inflaton potential, V(\phi), or a specific kinetic term, as in DBI inflation, but rather to reconstruct the inflationary action in its entirety. I will discuss the constraints that can be placed on a general single field action from measurements of the primordial scalar and tensor fluctuation power spectra and non-Gaussianities. I will also present the flow equation formalism for reconstructing a general inflationary Lagrangian, in a general gauge, that reduces to canonical and DBI inflation in a specific gauge. |
Host : Saulson