We show how observations of the perturbation spectra produced during inflation may be used to constrain the parameters of general scalar-tensor theories of gravity, which include both an inflaton and dilaton field. An interesting feature of these models is the possibility that the curvature perturbations on superhorizon scales may not be constant due to nonadiabatic perturbations of the two fields. Within a given model, the tilt and relative amplitude of the scalar and tensor perturbation spectra gives constraints on the parameters of the gravity theory, which may be comparable with those from primordial nucleosynthesis and post-Newtonian experiments. © 1995 The American Physical Society.

• Received 23 June 1995

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.52.6739