Related papers: Closed Spaces in Cosmology
Is the universe finite or infinite, and what shape does it have? These fundamental questions, of which relatively little is known, are typically studied within the context of the standard model of cosmology where the universe is assumed to…
The configuration space of general relativity is superspace - the space of all Riemannian 3-metrics modulo diffeomorphisms. However, it has been argued that the configuration space for gravity should be conformal superspace - the space of…
The closed-universe recollapse conjecture is studied for the spherically symmetric spacetimes. It is proven that there exists an upper bound to the lengths of timelike curves in any Tolman spacetime that possesses $S^3$ Cauchy surfaces and…
General relativity does not allow one to specify the topology of space, leaving the possibility that space is multiply rather than simply connected. We review the main mathematical properties of multiply connected spaces, and the different…
Foliations by constant mean curvature hypersurfaces provide a possibility of defining a preferred time coordinate in general relativity. In the following various conjectures are made about the existence of foliations of this kind in…
We study the global structure of Lorentzian manifolds with partial sectional curvature bounds. In particular, we prove completeness theorems for homogeneous and isotropic cosmologies as well as static spherically symmetric spacetimes. The…
In the Friedmann Model of the universe, cosmologists assume that spacelike slices of the universe are Riemannian manifolds of constant sectional curvature. This assumption is justified via Schur's Theorem by stating that the spacelike…
The Friedman-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) cosmological models are based on the assumptions of large-scale homogeneity and isotropy of the distribution of matter and energy. They are usually taken to have spatial sections that are simply…
The problem of classifying boundary points of space-time, for example singularities, regular points and points at infinity, is an unexpectedly subtle one. Due to the fact that whether or not two boundary points are identified or even…
Space-times which allow a slicing into homogeneous spatial hypersurfaces generalize the usual Bianchi models. One knows already that in these models the Bianchi type may change with time. Here we show which of the changes really appear. To…
This review aims to cover the central aspects of current research in cosmic topology from a topological and observational perspective. Beginning with an overview of the basic concepts of cosmology, it is observed that though a determinant…
We study the geometry and topology of Riemannian 3-orbifolds which are locally volume collapsed with respect to a curvature scale. We show that a sufficiently collapsed closed 3-orbifold without bad 2-suborbifolds either admits a metric of…
This work investigates some global questions about cosmological spacetimes with two dimensional spherical, plane and hyperbolic symmetry containing matter. The result is, that these spacetimes admit a global foliation by prescribed mean…
Why is the manifold topology in a spacetime taken for granted? Why do we prefer to use Riemann open balls as basic-open sets, while there also exists a Lorentz metric? Which topology is a best candidate for a spacetime; a topology…
The global properties of spatially homogeneous cosmological models with collisionless matter are studied. It is shown that as long as the mean curvature of the hypersurfaces of homogeneity remains finite no singularity can occur in finite…
We investigate measures of distance and redshift in cosmological space-times that admit a shear-free foliation, which we henceforth refer to as `quasi-Newtonian'. Space expands isotropically in this description, and small-scale…
What is the shape of the Universe? Is it curved or flat, finite or infinite ? Is space "wrapped around" to create ghost images of faraway cosmic sources? We review how tessellations allow to build multiply-connected 3D Riemannian spaces…
The recently suggested notion of total mass density for closed universes is extended to closed universes with a positive cosmological constant. Assuming that the matter fields satisfy the dominant energy condition, it is shown that the…
In spacetime physics, we frequently need to consider a set of all spaces (`universes') as a whole. In particular, the concept of `closeness' between spaces is essential. However, there has been no established mathematical theory so far…
In this paper we determine the topology of three-dimensional complete orientable Riemannian manifolds with a uniform lower bound of sectional curvature whose volume is sufficiently small.