  In this dissertation, we introduce a general way of modeling inflation in a
framework that is independent of the exact nature of the inflationary
potential. Because of the choice of our initial conditions and the continuity
of the scale factor in its first two derivatives, we obtain non-divergent
results without the need for any renormalization beyond what is required in
Minkowski space. The second part of this dissertation deals with a
post-Minkowski approximation to a binary point mass system with helical
symmetry. The third part of this dissertation discusses the detection
sensitivity of the IceCube Neutrino Telescope for observing interactions
involving TeV-scale black holes produced by an incoming high-energy cosmic
neutrino colliding with a parton in the Antarctic ice of the South Pole. We
also include in this dissertation a brief summary of relevant cosmology and an
appendix giving a parameterized, exact radiation-reaction solution.
