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SUMMARY:Cosmological Dynamics of Scalar Fields in String-Motivated Models 
 - Ivonne Zavala (Swansea U.)
DTSTART:20251013T120000Z
DTEND:20251013T130000Z
UID:TALK235921@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Gonzalo Villa
DESCRIPTION:Scalar fields are ubiquitous in string theory compactification
 s\, arising both from geometric moduli and as descendants of higher-dimens
 ional p-forms. In cosmology\, they provide natural candidates to drive acc
 elerated expansion\, both during early (inflationary) and late (dark energ
 y) time evolution of the Universe.\nIn single-field models\, scalar potent
 ials are typically too steep to sustain slow-roll evolution. However\, in 
 multifield scenarios\, accelerated expansion can occur even for steep pote
 ntials\, when the scalar fields move along strongly non-geodesic trajector
 ies in field space. Such dynamics not only enable inflation or dark energy
  but can also evade recent quantum gravity swampland constraints.\nIn this
  talk\, I will show how to extend the dynamical systems (DS) toolkit to in
 clude both kinetic and potential couplings between fields - features that 
 naturally arise in string-theoretic constructions. Within this framework\,
  I will present a compact and general expression for the non-geodesicity p
 arameter\, which offers a simple and transparent diagnostic of truly multi
 field evolution. I will also discuss connections with previous work on inf
 lationary dynamics\, where related mechanisms play a central role.
LOCATION:CMS\, Pav. B\, CTC Common Room (B1.19) [Potter Room]
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