Inflation, Universality and Attractors
  In this PhD thesis, we investigate generic features of inflation which are
strictly related to fundamental aspects of UV-physics scenarios, such as string
theory or supergravity. After a short introduction to standard and inflationary
cosmology, we present our research findings. On the one hand, we show that
focusing on universality properties of inflation can yield surprisingly
stringent bounds on its dynamics. This approach allows us to identify the
regime where the inflationary field range is uniquely determined by both the
tensor-to-scalar ratio and the spectral index. Then, we derive a novel
field-range bound, which is two orders of magnitude stronger than the original
one derived by Lyth. On the other hand, we discuss the embedding of inflation
in supergravity and prove that non-trivial hyperbolic K\"ahler geometries
induce an attractor for the inflationary observables: the spectral tilt tends
automatically to the center of the Planck dome whereas the amount of primordial
gravitational waves is directly controlled by curvature of the internal
manifold. We identify the origin of this attractor mechanism in the so-called
$\alpha$-scale supergravity model. Finally, we show how the inclusion of a
nilpotent sector, allowing for a unified description of inflation and dark
energy, implies an enhancement of the attractor nature of the theory. The main
results of this thesis have been already published elsewhere. However, here we
pay special attention to present them in a comprehensive way and provide the
reader with the necessary background.
