Related papers: The anamorphic universe
Astronomical observations suggest that the Universe may be anisotropic on the largest scales. In order to model this situation, we develop a new approach to cosmology that allows for large-scale anisotropy to emerge from the growth of…
Quantum creation of Universes with compact spacelike sections that have curvature $k$ either closed, flat or open, i.e. $k=\pm1,0$ are studied. In the flat and open cases, the superpotential of the Wheeler De Witt equation is significantly…
Based on concepts drawn from the ekpyrotic scenario and M-theory, we elaborate our recent proposal of a cyclic model of the Universe. In this model, the Universe undergoes an endless sequence of cosmic epochs which begin with the Universe…
Standard quantum field theory arguments predict an enormous cosmological constant. But what would this mean observationally? For a homogeneous universe the answer is clear, but if the universe is inhomogeneous at the Planck scale, the…
Based on an earlier introduced new class of generalized gravity-matter models defined in terms of two independent non-Riemannian volume forms (alternative generally covariant integration measure densities) on the space-time manifold, we…
Big Bang models of the Universe predict rapid domination by curvature, a paradox known as the flatness problem. Solutions to this problem usually leave the Universe exactly flat for every practical purpose. Explaining a nearly but not…
We study cosmological solutions for the very early universe beginning at the Planck scale for a universe containing radiation, curvature and, as a simplification of a possible scalar field potential, a cosmological constant term. The…
Classical cosmology exhibits a particular kind of scaling symmetry. The dynamics of the invariants of this symmetry forms a system that exhibits many of the features of open systems such as the non-conservation of mechanical energy and the…
Topological phases of matter are often understood and predicted with the help of crystal symmetries, although they don't rely on them to exist. In this chapter we review how topological phases have been recently shown to emerge in amorphous…
We perform a detailed dynamical analysis of various cosmological scenarios in extended (varying-mass) nonlinear massive gravity. Due to the enhanced freedom in choosing the involved free functions, this cosmological paradigm allows for a…
We propose a class of theories that can limit scalars constructed from the extrinsic curvature. Applied to cosmology, this framework allows us to control not only the Hubble parameter but also anisotropies without the problem of…
Observational cosmology is in its "golden age" with a vast amount of recent data on the distribution of matter and light in the universe. This data can be used to probe theories of the very early universe. It is small amplitude cosmological…
We demonstrate that there exists a large class of action functionals of the scalar curvature and of the Gauss-Bonnet invariant which are able to relax dynamically a large cosmological constant (CC), whatever it be its starting value in the…
We propose a cosmological model that describes isotropic expansion of inhomogeneous universe. The energy-momentum tensor that creates the spatial inhomogeneity may not affect the uniform expansion scaling factor $a(t)$ in the FLRW-like…
We study the cosmological implications of gravity models which break diffeomorphisms (Diff) invariance down to transverse diffeomorphisms (TDiff). We start from the most general gravitational action involving up to quadratic terms in…
We introduce the "wedge diagram," an intuitive way to illustrate how cosmological models with a classical (non-singular) bounce generically resolve fundamental problems in cosmology. These include the well-known horizon, flatness, and…
An oscillating universe cycles through a series of expansions and contractions. We propose a model in which ``phantom'' energy with $p < -\rho$ grows rapidly and dominates the late-time expanding phase. The universe's energy density is so…
In the context of a homogeneous universe, we note that the appearance of aggressively expanding advanced life is geometrically similar to the process of nucleation and bubble growth in a first-order cosmological phase transition. We exploit…
We discuss a cosmological model where the universe shrinks rather than expands during the radiation and matter dominated periods. Instead, the Planck mass and all particle masses grow exponentially, with the size of atoms shrinking…
We develop a non-singular bouncing cosmology using a non-trivial coupling of general relativity to fermionic fields. The usual Big Bang singularity is avoided thanks to a negative energy density contribution from the fermions. Our theory is…