The so-called curvaton mechanism—a way to convert isocurvature perturbations into adiabatic ones—is investigated both analytically and numerically in a pre-big-bang scenario where the role of the curvaton is played by a sufficiently massive Kalb-Ramond axion of superstring theory. When combined with observations of CMBR anisotropies at large and moderate angular scales, the present analysis allows us to constrain quite considerably the parameter space of the model: in particular, the initial displacement of the axion from the minimum of its potential and the rate of evolution of the compactification volume during pre-big-bang inflation. The combination of theoretical and experimental constraints favors a slightly blue spectrum of scalar perturbations, and/or a value of the string scale in the vicinity of the SUSY GUT scale.

• Received 12 December 2002

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.67.063514