Related papers: Scale Invariant Density Perturbations from Cyclic …
Combining intervals of ekpyrotic (ultra-slow) contraction with a (non-singular) classical bounce naturally leads to a novel cyclic theory of the universe in which the Hubble parameter, energy density and temperature oscillate periodically,…
For bouncing cosmologies such as the ekpyrotic/cyclic scenarios we show that it is possible to make predictions for density perturbations which are independent of the details of the bouncing phase. This can be achieved, as in inflationary…
We investigate the effect of the cosmological QCD transition on the evolution of primordial density perturbations. If the phase transition is first order, the sound speed vanishes during the transition and density perturbations fall freely.…
Examining the reverse evolution of the universe from the present, long before reaching Planck density dynamics one expects major modifications from the de-coherent thermal equations of state, suggesting a prior phase that has macroscopic…
The evolution of the spectrum of cosmological fluctuations from one cycle to the next is studied. It is pointed out that each cycle leads to a reddening of the spectrum. This opens up new ways to generate a scale-invariant spectrum of…
Standard cosmology connects the scale generated at late times by the cosmological constant with that generated in early times by the energy dynamics. Assuming dark energy de-coherence occurs during early times when the scale parameter…
The linear cosmological perturbation theory of an almost homogeneous and isotropic perfect fluid universe is reconsidered and formally simplified by introducing new covariant and gauge-invariant variables with physical interpretations on…
Quantum gravitational effects in loop quantum cosmology lead to a resolution of the initial singularity and have the potential to solve the horizon problem and generate a quasi scale-invariant spectrum of density fluctuations. We consider…
We study the evolution of cosmological perturbations in a non-singular bouncing cosmology with a bounce phase which has superimposed oscillations of the scale factor. We identify length scales for which the final spectrum of fluctuations…
The evolution of superhorizon curvature perturbations in a two-component interacting universe is considered. It is found that adiabatic modes conserve the total curvature perturbation $\zeta$, unless there are stages in which the rate of…
The spectrum and statistics of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) are investigated under the hypothesis that scale invariance of the primordial density fluctuations should be promoted to full conformal invariance. As in the…
Cosmological perturbations in an expanding universe back-react on the space-time in which they propagate. Calculations to lowest non-vanishing order in perturbation theory indicate that super-Hubble-scale fluctuations act as a negative and…
The effects that large scale fluctuations had on small scale isothermal modes at the epoch of recombination are analysed. We find that: (a) Albeit the fact that primordial fluctuations were at this epoch still well in the linear regime, a…
In this Letter, we describe how a spectrum of entropic perturbations generated during a period of slow contraction can source a nearly scale-invariant spectrum of curvature perturbations on length scales larger than the Hubble radius during…
A finite vacuum energy density implies the existence of a UV scale for gravitational modes. This gives a phenomenological scale to the dynamical equations governing the cosmological expansion that must satisfy constraints consistent with…
I show that cosmological perturbation spectra produced from quantum fluctuations in massless or self-interacting scalar fields during an inflationary era remain invariant under a two parameter family of transformations of the homogeneous…
We consider recently proposed bouncing cosmological models for which the Hubble parameter is periodic in time, but the scale factor grows from one cycle to the next as a mechanism for shedding entropy. Since the scale factor for a flat…
If spacetime undergoes quantum fluctuations, an electromagnetic wavefront will acquire uncertainties in direction as well as phase as it propagates through spacetime. These uncertainties can show up in interferometric observations of…
In the matter bounce scenario, a dust-dominated contracting space-time generates scale-invariant perturbations that, assuming a nonsingular bouncing cosmology, propagate to the expanding branch and set appropriate initial conditions for the…
We propose a new cosmological paradigm in which our observed expanding phase is originated from an initially large contracting Universe that subsequently experienced a bounce. This category of models, being geodesically complete, is…