Related papers: Emergence of a Big Bang singularity in an exact st…
Singular spacetimes are a natural prediction of Einstein's theory. Most memorable are the singular centers of black holes and the big bang. However, dilatonic extensions of Einstein's theory can support nonsingular spacetimes. The…
We present a conformal field theory -- obtained from a gauged WZW model -- that describes a closed, inhomogeneous expanding and recollapsing universe in $3+1$ dimensions. A possible violation of cosmic censorship is avoided because the…
The big bounce singularity of a simple 5D cosmological model is studied. Contrary to the standard big bang space-time singularity, this big bounce singularity is found to be an event horizon at which the scale factor and the mass density of…
I argue that string theory compactified on a Riemann surface crosses over at small volume to a higher dimensional background of supercritical string theory. Several concrete measures of the count of degrees of freedom of the theory yield…
Higher-dimensional braneworld models which contain both bulk and brane curvature terms in the action admit cosmological singularities of rather unusual form and nature. These `quiescent' singularities, which can occur both during the…
Multidimensionality of our Universe is one of the most intriguing assumption in modern physics. It follows naturally from theories unifying different fundamental interactions with gravity, e.g. M/string theory. The idea has received a great…
Important open questions in cosmology require a better understanding of the Big Bang singularity. In string and matrix theories, light-like analogues of cosmological singularities (singular plane wave backgrounds) turn out to be…
While most of the singularities of General Relativity are expected to be safely hidden behind event horizons by the cosmic censorship conjecture, we happen to live in the causal future of the classical big bang singularity, whose resolution…
A family of exact conformal field theories is constructed which describe charged black strings in three dimensions. Unlike previous charged black hole or extended black hole solutions in string theory, the low energy spacetime metric has a…
Hawking's singularity theorem says that cosmological solutions arising from initial data with positive mean curvature have a past singularity. However, the nature of the singularity remains unclear. We therefore ask: If the initial…
The big bang singularity of the expanding-universe Friedmann solution of the Einstein gravitational field equation can be regularized by the introduction of a degenerate metric and a nonzero length scale $b$. The result is a nonsingular…
The initial cosmological singularity in the framework of the general theory of relativity is resolved by introducing the effect of the uncertainty principle of quantum theory without violating conventional laws of physics. A plausible…
We assume that our universe originated from highly excited and interacting strings with coupling constant g_s = {\cal O} (1). Fluctuations of spacetime geometry are large in such strings and the physics dictating the emergence of a final…
Various physical properties of cosmological models in (1+1) dimensions are investigated. We demonstrate how a hot big bang and a hot big crunch can arise in some models. In particular, we examine why particle horizons do not occur in matter…
In string gas cosmology, the extra dimensions of the underlying theory are kept at a microscopic scale by a gas of strings. In the matter-dominated era, however, dust pressure can lead to oscillations of the extra dimensions and to…
Several scenarios have been proposed in which primordial perturbations could originate from quantum vacuum fluctuations in a phase corresponding to a collapse phase (in an Einstein frame) preceding the Big Bang. I briefly review three…
A collision of orbifold planes in eleven dimensions has been proposed as an explanation of the hot big bang. When the two planes are close to each other, the winding membranes become the lightest modes of the theory, and can be effectively…
Based on the proposed unifying theory of dark matter and quintessence, a novel nonlinear structure formation scenario is suggested. This top-down singular and turbulent scenario results in a bottom-up hierarchical clustering and is…
Singularities in General Relativity are regions where the description of spacetime in terms of a pseudo-Riemannian geometry breaks down. The theory seems unable to predict the evolution of the physical degrees of freedom around and beyond…
Exact global solutions of five-dimensional cosmological models compactified on a $S_1/Z_2$ orbifold with two 3-branes are presented, and evolution of a simple model is studied. It is found that on all 4D spacetime hypersurfaces, except a…