The aim of this book is to provide an elementary, but detailed, introduction to the possible impact of string theory on the basic aspects of primordial cosmology. The content of the book includes a discussion of the new models of the Universe obtained by solving the string theory equations, as well as a systematic analysis of their phenomenological consequences, for a close comparison with more conventional inflationary scenarios based on the Einstein equations.

The book is primarily intended for graduate students, not necessarily equipped with a background knowledge of cosmology and string theory; but any reader in possession of the basic notions of general relativity and quantum field theory should be able to benefit from the use of this book (or, at least, of a great part of it). Some chapters (in particular, Chapters 1, 7 and 8) could also be used as a “soft” introduction to modern cosmology for string theorists, while other chapters (in particular, Chapters 2 and 3) as a soft introduction to string theory for astrophysicists; however, all readers are strongly advised to refer to other, more specialized books for a rigorous (independent) study of cosmology and string theory. It should be stressed, also, that this book is not aimed as a comprehensive and up-to-date review of all research work available in a string cosmology context: it only provides a pedagogic introduction to the basic ideas and theoretical tools, hopefully useful to the interested reader as a starting point towards more advanced research topics currently in progress in this field.