Related papers: Graceful exit via polymerization of pre-big bang c…
We propose a phenomenological approach to the cosmological constant problem based on generally covariant non-local and acausal modifications of four-dimensional gravity at enormous distances. The effective Newton constant becomes very small…
An oscillating universe cycles through a series of expansions and contractions. We propose a model in which ``phantom'' energy with a supernegative pressure ($p < - \rho$) grows rapidly and dominates the late-time expanding phase. The…
We study the effect of higher-curvature terms in the string low-energy effective actions on the cosmological solutions of the theory, up to corrections quartic in the curvatures, for the bosonic and heterotic strings as well as the type II…
Cosmology appears as the most promising way to test and constrain quantum gravity theories. Loop quantum gravity is among the most advanced attempts to perform a non-perturbative quantization of general relativity. Its cosmological…
We study cosmological solutions of Einstein gravity with a positive cosmological constant in diverse dimensions. These include big-bang models that re-collapse, big-bang models that approach de Sitter acceleration at late times, and bounce…
In the loop approach to the quantisation of gravity, one uses a Hilbert space which is too singular for some operators to be realised as derivatives. This is usually addressed by instead using finite difference operators at the Planck…
A bouncing Universe avoids the big-bang singularity. Using the time-like and null Raychaudhhuri equations, we explore whether the bounce near the big-bang, within a broad spectrum of modified theories of gravity, allows for cosmologically…
Some long standing issues concerning the quantum nature of the big bang are resolved in the context of homogeneous isotropic models with a scalar field. Specifically, the known results on the resolution of the big bang singularity in loop…
The leading quantum correction to Einstein-Hilbert Hamiltonian coming from large volume vacuum isotropic loop quantum cosmology, is independent of quantization ambiguity parameters. It is shown here that this correction can be viewed as…
It is well known that a closed universe with a minimally coupled massive scalar field always collapses to a singularity unless the initial conditions are extremely fine tuned. We show that the corrections to the equations of motion for the…
In this paper, we present two non-perturbative string cosmological solutions without curvature singularities for the bosonic gravi-dilaton system. These solutions are general in the sense that they can straightforwardly match the…
Loop quantum cosmology homogeneous models with a massless scalar field show that the big-bang singularity can be replaced by a big quantum bounce. To gain further insight on the nature of this bounce, we study the semi-discrete loop quantum…
The question of possible physics before Big Bang (or after Big Crunch) is addressed via a schematic non-covariant simulation of the loss of observability of the Universe. Our model is drastically simplified by the reduction of its degrees…
This paper examines two cosmological models of quantum gravity (from string theory and loop quantum gravity) to investigate the foundational and conceptual issues arising from quantum treatments of the big bang. While the classical…
The physical interpretation and eventual fate of gravitational singularities in a theory surpassing classical general relativity are puzzling questions that have generated a great deal of interest among various quantum gravity approaches.…
Aspects of string cosmology for critical and non-critical strings are discussed emphasizing the necessity to account for the dilaton dynamics for a proper incorporation of ``large - small" duality. This drastically modifies the intuition…
It is shown that Born-Infeld gravity --a high energy deformation of Einstein gravity-- removes the singularities of a cosmic string. The respective vacuum solution results to be free of conical singularity and closed timelike curves. The…
In string theory, the traditional picture of a Universe that emerges from the inflation of a very small and highly curved space-time patch is a possibility, not a necessity: quite different initial conditions are possible, and not…
A bouncing scenario of a flat homogeneous and isotropic universe is explored by using the reconstruction technique for the power-law parametrization of the Hubble parameter in a modified gravity theory with higher-order curvature and trace…
Within the context of a super-critical (Liouville) string, we discuss (target-space) two-dimensional string cosmology. A numerical analysis indicates that the identification of time with the Liouville mode results in an expanding universe…