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Inflation and quintessence with nonminimal coupling

Valerio FaraoniResearch Group in General Relativity (RggR), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Campus Plaine CP 231, Blvd. du Triomphe, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
2000en
ABI

Abstract

The nonminimal coupling (NMC) of the scalar field to the Ricci curvature is unavoidable in many cosmological scenarios. Inflation and quintessence models based on nonminimally coupled scalar fields are studied, with particular attention to the balance between the scalar potential and the NMC term $\ensuremath{\xi}R{\ensuremath{\varphi}}^{2}/2$ in the action. NMC makes acceleration of the universe harder to achieve for the usual potentials, but it is beneficial in obtaining cosmic acceleration with unusual potentials. The slow-roll approximation with NMC, conformal transformation techniques, and other aspects of the physics of NMC are clarified.

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