Abstract: We consider supersymmetric (SUSY) and non-SUSY models of chaotic inflation based on the phi(n) potential with 2 <= n <= 6. We show that the coexistence of a nonminimal coupling to gravity f(R) = 1 + c(R)phi(n/2) with a kinetic mixing of the form f(K) = c(K)f(R)(m) can accommodate inflationary observables favored by the BICEP2/Keck Array and Planck results for 0 <= m <= 4 and 2.5 x 10(-4) <= r(RK) = c(R)/c(K)(n/4) <= 1, where the upper limit is not imposed for n 2. Inflation can be attained for sub-Planckian inflaton values with the corresponding effective theories retaining the perturbative unitarity up to the Planck scale.

Abstract: We present the cosmological bounds on the thermal axion mass in an extended cosmological scenario in which the primordial power spectrum of scalar perturbations differs from the usual power-law shape predicted by the simplest inflationary models. The power spectrum is instead modeled by means of a “piecewise cubic Hermite interpolating polynomial” (PCHIP). When using cosmic microwave background measurements combined with other cosmological data sets, the thermal axion mass constraints are degraded only slightly. The addition of the measurements of sigma(8) and Omega(m) from the 2013 Planck cluster catalog on galaxy number counts relaxes the bounds on the thermal axion mass, mildly favoring a similar to 1 eV axion mass, regardless of the model adopted for the primordial power spectrum. However, in general, such a preference disappears if the sum of the three active neutrino masses is also considered as a free parameter in our numerical analyses, due to the strong correlation between the masses of these two hot thermal relics.

Abstract: We argue that a microscopic structure for spacetime such as that expected in a quantum foam scenario, in which microscopic wormholes and other topological structures should play a relevant role, might lead to an effective metric-affine geometry at larger scales. This idea is supported by the role that microscopic defects play in crystalline structures. With an explicit model, we show that wormhole formation is possible in a metric-affine scenario, where the wormhole and the matter fields play a role analogous to that of defects in crystals. Such wormholes also arise in Born-Infeld gravity, which is favored by an analogy with the estimated mass of a point defect in condensed matter systems. We also point out that in metric-affine geometries, Einstein's equations with an effective cosmological constant appear as an attractor in the vacuum limit for a vast family of theories of gravity. This illustrates how lessons from solid state physics can be useful in unveiling the properties of the microcosmos and defining new avenues for modified theories of gravity.