Related papers: Graceful exit via polymerization of pre-big bang c…
String theory can (in principle) describe gravity at all curvature scales, and can be applied to cosmology to look back in time beyond the Planck epoch. The duality symmetries of string theory suggest a cosmological picture in which the…
The absence of isotropic singularity in loop quantum cosmology can be understood in an effective classical description as the universe exhibiting a Big Bounce. We show that with scalar matter field, the big bounce is generic in the sense…
We study cosmological solutions to the low-energy effective action of heterotic string theory including possible leading order $\alpha'$ corrections and a potential for the dilaton. We consider the possibility that including such stringy…
The chameleonic behaviour of the String theory dilaton is suggested. Some of the possible consequences of the chameleonic string dilaton are analyzed in detail. In particular, (1) we suggest a new stringy solution to the cosmological…
While loop quantum cosmology (LQC) predicts a robust quantum bounce of the background evolution of a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) spacetime prior to the standard slow-roll inflation, whereby the big bang singularity is resolved, there…
We review a solution of the cosmological constant problem in a brane-world model with infinite-volume extra dimensions. The solution is based on a nonlinear generally covariant theory of a metastable graviton that leads to a large-distance…
We consider an isotropic and homogeneous universe in loop quantum cosmology. We assume that the matter content of the universe is dominated by dust matter in early time and a phantom matter at late time which constitutes the dark energy…
A Quintom universe with an equation-of-state crossing the cosmological constant boundary can provide a bouncing solution dubbed the Quintom Bounce and thus resolve the Big Bang singularity. In this paper, we investigate the cosmological…
In the recent years the quantization methods of Loop Quantum Gravity have been successfully applied to the homogeneous and isotropic Friedmann-Robertson-Walker space-times. The resulting theory, called Loop Quantum Cosmology (LQC), resolves…
The emergent scenario provides a possible way to avoid the big bang singularity by assuming that the universe originates from an Einstein static state. Therefore, an Einstein static universe stable under perturbations is crucial to a…
We review a few off-the-beaten-track ideas in cosmology. They solve a variety of fundamental problems; also they are fun. We start with a description of non-singular dilaton cosmology. In these scenarios gravity is modified so that the…
We employ the framework of affine covariant quantization and associated semiclassical portrait to address two main issues in the domain of quantum gravitational systems: (i) the fate of singularities and (ii) the lack of external time. Our…
We describe string frame bouncing universe scenarios involving the creation and annihilation of a non-BPS D9-brane in type IIA superstring theory. We find several classes of solutions, in which the bounce is driven by the tachyon dynamics…
We study gravitational collapse in effective loop quantum gravity, focusing on non-marginally bound configurations in Lema\^itre-Tolman-Bondi spacetimes. In the homogeneous limit we recover the effective dynamics of loop quantum cosmology…
A bouncing universe is a viable candidate to solve the initial singularity problem. Here we consider bouncing solutions in the context of $f(R,\mathcal{G})$ gravity by using an order reduction technique which allows one to find solutions…
I report recent studies on the evolution of perturbations in the context of the ``pre-big-bang" scenario typical of string cosmology, with emphasis on the formation of a stochastic background of relic photons and gravitons, and its possible…
As the only gravity theory with quadratic curvature terms and second-order field equations, Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet gravity is a natural testbed to probe the high-curvature regime beyond General Relativity in a fully nonperturbative…
We complement the low-energy gravi-dilaton effective action of string theory with a non-local, general-covariant dilaton potential, and obtain homogeneous solutions describing a non-singular (bouncing-curvature) cosmology. We then compute,…
In Loop Quantum Gravity mathematically rigorous models of full quantum gravity were proposed. In this paper we study a cosmological sector of one of the models describing quantum gravity with positive cosmological constant coupled to…
Loop quantum cosmology predicts that, in simple models, the big bang singularity of classical general relativity is replaced by a quantum bounce. Because of the extreme physical conditions near the bounce, a natural question is whether the…