Early-time cosmological solutions in scalar-Gauss-Bonnet theory
  We consider a gravitational theory that contains the Einstein term, a scalar
field and the quadratic Gauss-Bonnet term. We focus on the early-universe
dynamics, and demonstrate that the Ricci scalar does not affect the
cosmological solutions at early times, when the curvature is strong. We then
consider a pure scalar-GB theory with a quadratic coupling function: for a
negative coupling parameter, we obtain solutions that contain always an
inflationary, de Sitter phase, while for a positive coupling function, we find
instead expanding singularity-free solutions.
