Related papers: Some spaces are more equal than others
The perturbed Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker models allow many different possibilities for the 3-manifold of the comoving spatial section of the Universe. It used to be thought that global properties of the spatial section, including…
It has previously been shown heuristically that the topology of the Universe affects gravity, in the sense that a test particle near a massive object in a multiply connected universe is subject to a topologically induced acceleration that…
The role of global topology in the dynamics of the Universe is poorly understood. Along with observational programmes for determining the topology of the Universe, some small theoretical steps have recently been made. Heuristic…
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…
The gravitational field equations on cosmological scales are obtained by averaging the Einstein field equations of general relativity. By assuming spatial homogeneity and isotropy on the largest scales, the local inhomogeneities affect the…
We discuss gravitational effects of global scalar fields and, especially, of global topological defects. We first give an introduction to the dynamics of global fields and the formation of defects. Next we investigate the induced…
We consider general curvature-invariant modifications of the Einstein-Hilbert action that become important only in regions of extremely low space-time curvature. We investigate the far future evolution of the universe in such models,…
Astrophysical bounds severely limit the possibility of observing collider signals of gravity with less than 3 flat extra dimensions. However, small distortions of the compactified space can lift the masses of the lightest graviton…
We discuss the evolution of linear perturbations about a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker background metric, using only the local conservation of energy-momentum. We show that on sufficiently large scales the curvature perturbation on spatial…
As evidenced by a great number of works, it is common practice to assume that the Universe is flat. However, the majority of studies which make use of observational data to constrain the curvature density parameter are premised on the…
The problem of topology change description in gravitation theory is analized in detailes. It is pointed out that in standard four-dimensional theories the topology of space may be considered as a particular case of boundary conditions (or…
The evolutions of linear structures in a spatially homogeneous and isotropic world model are characterized by some conserved quantities: the amplitude of gravitational wave is conserved in the super-horizon scale, the perturbed three-space…
Is the Universe (a spatial section thereof) finite or infinite? Knowing the global geometry of a Friedmann-Lema\^{\i}tre (FL) universe requires knowing both its curvature and its topology. A flat or hyperbolic (``open'') FL universe is {\em…
The curvature of a spacetime, either in a topological sense, or averaged over super-horizon-sized patches, is often equated with the global curvature term that appears in Friedmann's equation. In general, however, the Universe is…
We show that the quantization ambiguities of loop quantum cosmology, when considered in wider generality, can be used to produce discretionary dynamical behavior. There is an infinite dimensional space of ambiguities which parallels the…
Although cosmic expansion at very small distances is usually dismissed as entirely inconsequential, these extraordinarily small effects may in fact have a real and significant influence on our world. A calculation suggests that the minute…
A recent article uncovered a surprising dynamical mechanism at work within the (vacuum) Einstein `flow' that strongly suggests that many closed 3-manifolds that do not admit a locally homogeneous and isotropic metric \textit{at all} will…
The properties of geodesics flow are studied in a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker metric perturbed due to the inhomogeneities of matter. The basic, averaged Jacobi equation is derived, which reveals that the low density regions (voids) are able…
We study multidimensional gravitational models with scalar curvature nonlinearity of the type 1/R and with form-fields (fluxes) as a matter source. It is assumed that the higher dimensional space-time undergoes Freund-Rubin-like spontaneous…
Could cosmic topology imply dark energy? We use a weak field (Newtonian) approximation of gravity and consider the gravitational effect from distant, multiple copies of a large, collapsed (virialised) object today (i.e. a massive galaxy…