String-inspired cosmology

I discuss cosmological models either derived from, or inspired by, string theory or M-theory. In particular, I discuss solutions in the low-energy effective theory and the role of the dilaton, moduli and antisymmetric form fields in the dimensionally reduced effective action. The pre-big-bang model is an attempt to use cosmological solutions to make observational predictions. I then discuss the effective theory of gravity found in recent braneworld models where we live on a 3-brane embedded in a five-dimensional spacetime and how the study of cosmological perturbations may enable us to test these ideas.