Related papers: Singularity avoidance in the hybrid quantization o…
In contrast to previous work in the field, we construct the Loop Quantum Cosmology (LQC) of the flat isotropic model with a massless scalar field in the absence of higher order curvature corrections to the gravitational part of the…
We study a model of a scalar field minimally coupled to gravity, with a specific potential energy for the scalar field, and include curvature and radiation as two additional parameters. Our goal is to obtain analytically the complete set of…
String-inspired cosmologies, whereby a non-singular curvature bounce is induced by a general-covariant, $T$-duality-invariant, non-local dilaton potential, are used to study numerically how inhomogeneities evolve and to compare the outcome…
We analyze the semiclassical polymer dynamics of the inhomogeneous Mixmaster model by choosing the cubed scale factor as the discretized configurational variable, while the anisotropies remain pure Einsteinian variables. Such a modified…
We establish a formal relationship between stationary axisymmetric spacetimes and $T^3$ Gowdy cosmological models which allows us to derive several preliminary results about the generation of exact cosmological solutions and their possible…
We investigate a particular type of classical nonsingular bouncing cosmology, which results from general relativity if we allow for degenerate metrics. The simplest model has a matter content with a constant equation-of-state parameter and…
The development of dark energy models has stimulated interest to cosmological singularities, which differ from the traditional Big Bang and Big Crunch singularities. We review a broad class of phenomena connected with soft cosmological…
We analyze the dynamics of a homogeneous and isotropic universe in the Einstein--Cartan theory of gravity. The spin of fermions produces spacetime torsion that prevents gravitational singularities and replaces the big bang with a…
Recently a consistent non-perturbative quantization of the Schwarzschild interior resulting in a bounce from black hole to white hole geometry has been obtained by loop quantizing the Kantowski-Sachs vacuum spacetime. As in other spacetimes…
We extend our previous study on the effects of an information-theoretically motivated nonlinear correction to the Wheeler-deWitt equation in the minisuperspace scheme for FRW universes. Firstly we show that even when the geometry is…
In the context of the Loop Quantum Cosmology we have analysed the holonomy correction to the classical evolution of the simplified Bianchi I model in the presence of vector fields. For the Universe dominated by a massive vector field or by…
Assuming the existence of a scalar field which undergoes "ghost condensation" and which has a suitably chosen potential, it is possible to obtain a non-singular bouncing cosmology in the presence of regular matter and radiation. The…
We present a review on basic aspects of quantum cosmology in the presence of cut-off physics. We first analyze how the Wheeler-DeWitt equation in a pure metric approach describes the quantum Universe, showing how the singularity is not…
A unified treatment of all known types of singularities for flat, isotropic and homogeneous spacetimes in the framework of loop quantum cosmology (LQC) is presented. These include bangs, crunches and all future singularities. Using…
We implement Polymer Quantum Mechanics on the Hamiltonian formulation of the isotropic Universe in both the representations of the standard Ashtekar-Barbero-Immirzi connection and of a new generalized coordinate conjugate to the Universe…
We study a nonsingular bounce inflation model, which can drive the early universe from a contracting phase, bounce into an ordinary inflationary phase, followed by the reheating process. Besides the bounce that avoided the Big-Bang…
In this dissertation we study two well known gravitational scenarios in which singularities may appear; the final state of gravitational collapse and the late time evolution of the universe. In the first scenario, we study a spherically…
We find a simple modification of the longitudinal mode in General Relativity which incorporates the idea of limiting curvature. In this case the singularities in contracting Friedmann and Kasner universes are avoided, and instead, the…
Aspects of the full theory of loop quantum gravity can be studied in a simpler context by reducing to symmetric models like cosmological ones. This leads to several applications where loop effects play a significant role when one is…
We study how a cosmological bounce with a Type IV singularity at the bouncing point, can be generated by a classical vacuum $F(G)$ gravity. We focus our investigation on the behavior of the vacuum $F(G)$ theory near the Type IV singular…