Related papers: Initial Conditions for Bubble Universes
Structure in the Universe is widely believed to have originated from quantum fluctuations during an early epoch of accelerated expansion. Yet, the patterns we observe today do not distinguish between quantum or classical primordial…
Theoretical considerations motivate us to consider vacuum energy to be able to decay and to assume that the spatial geometry of the universe is closed. Combining both aspects leads to the possibility that the universe, or certain regions…
We study the statistical mechanics of the early radiation dominated universe in the context of a generalized uncertainty principle which supports the existence of a minimal length scale. Utilizing the resultant modified thermodynamical…
By quantizing the background as well as the perturbations in a simple one fluid cosmological model, we show that there exists an ambiguity in the choice of relevant variables, potentially leading to incompatible observational physical…
Loop quantum cosmology is shown to provide both the dynamical law and initial conditions for the wave function of a universe by one discrete evolution equation. Accompanied by the condition that semiclassical behavior is obtained at large…
An introductory account is given of the modern understanding of the physics of the early Universe. Particular emphasis is placed on the paradigm of cosmological inflation, which postulates a period of accelerated expansion during the…
We consider the quantum birth of a hot FRW universe from a vacuum-dominated quantum fluctuation with admixture of radiation and strings, which correspond to quantum tunnelling from a discrete energy level with a non-zero temperature. The…
Recently the low-energy effective string theory has been used by Gasperini and Veneziano to elaborate a very interesting scenario for the early history of the universe (``birth of the universe as quantum scattering''). Here we investigate…
I show that the de Sitter Equilibrium cosmology generically predicts observable levels of curvature in the Universe today. The predicted value of the curvature depends only on the ratio of the density of non-relativistic matter to energy…
In this thesis, we discuss several instances in which non-linear behaviour affects cosmological evolution in the early Universe. We begin by reviewing the standard cosmological model and the tools used to understand it theoretically and to…
We review some aspects of moduli in string theory. We argue that one should focus on {\it approximate moduli spaces}, and that there is evidence that such spaces exist non-perturbatively. We ask what it would mean for string theory to…
The quantum cosmology of the flat Friedmann-Lema{\^i}tre-Robertson-Walker Universe, filled with a scalar field, is considered in the de Broglie-Bohm (dBB) interpretation framework. A stiff-matter quantum bounce solution is obtained. The…
Seiberg and Witten have shown that the non-perturbative stability of string physics on conformally compactified spacetimes is related to the behaviour of the areas and volumes of certain branes as the brane is moved towards infinity. If, as…
After introducing gauge-invariant cosmological perturbation theory we give an improved set of governing equations for multiple fluids including energy transfer. Having defined adiabatic and entropic perturbations we derive the…
In spite of the phenomenological successes of the inflationary universe scenario, the current realizations of inflation making use of scalar fields lead to serious conceptual problems which are reviewed in this lecture. String theory may…
We compute the spectrum of cosmological perturbations in a scenario in which inflation is driven by radiation in a non-commutative space-time. In this scenario, the non-commutativity of space and time leads to a modified dispersion relation…
There are at least two cosmological constants calling for explanation. The first one describes the quasi-de Sitter inflation in the early universe, and the second describes the current acceleration of the universe associated with dark…
In standard general relativity the universe cannot be started with arbitrary initial conditions, because four of the ten components of the Einstein's field equations (EFE) are constraints on initial conditions. In the previous work it was…
We study a cosmological scenario in which inflation is preceded by a bounce. In this scenario, the primordial singularity, one of the major shortcomings of inflation, is replaced by a non-singular bounce, prior to which the universe…
Measurements of CMB anisotropy and, more recently, polarization have played a very important role allowing precise determination of various parameters of the `standard' cosmological model. The expectation of the paradigm of inflation and…