In this paper we propose a new mechanism of inflating the Universe with non-BPS D4-branes which decay into stable D3-branes via tachyon condensation. In a single brane scenario the tachyon potential is very steep and unable to support inflation. However, if the universe lives in a stack of branes produced by a set of noninteracting unstable -branes, then the associated set of tachyons may drive inflation along our 3 spatial dimensions. After tachyon condensation the Universe is imagined to be filled with a set of parallel stable D3-branes. We study the scalar density perturbations and reheating within this setup.
In this pioneering paper we have shown how our Universe emerges from the condensation of higher dimensional defects from string theory. This is amongst the first few papers which has embedded inflation within string theory. It has generated a wave of research developing its novel approach. 128 citations (SPIRES). RAE_import_type : Journal article RAE_uoa_type : Physics
