Related papers: Warm Ekpyrosis
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…
We investigate the bounce realization in the framework of DHOST cosmology, focusing on the relation with observables. We perform a detailed analysis of the scalar and tensor perturbations during the Ekpyrotic contraction phase, the bounce…
In cyclic universe models based on a single scalar field (e.g., the radion determining the distance between branes in M-theory), virtually the entire universe makes it through the ekpyrotic smoothing and flattening phase, bounces, and…
Quantum decoherence and the transition to semiclassical behavior during inflation has been extensively considered in the literature. In this paper, we use a simple model to analyze the same process in ekpyrosis. Our result is that the…
We analyze the simplest possible realization of the curvaton scenario, where a nearly scale-invariant spectrum of adiabatic perturbations is generated by conversion of an isocurvature perturbation generated during inflation, rather than the…
In general, for single field, the scale invariant spectrum of curvature perturbation can be given by either its constant mode or its increasing mode. We show that during slowly expanding or contracting, the spectrum of curvature…
A bouncing universe with a long period of contraction during which the average density is pressureless (the same equation of state as matter) as cosmologically observable scales exit the Hubble horizon has been proposed as an explanation…
We compute the non-Gaussianity of the curvature perturbation generated by ekpyrotic collapse with multiple fields. The transition from the multi-field scaling solution to a single-field dominated regime converts initial isocurvature field…
The steady states of two gases of hard spheres or disks separated by an adiabatic piston in presence of a temperature gradient are discussed. The temperature field is generated by two thermal walls at different temperatures, each of them in…
We present a detailed study of a simple scalar field model that yields non-singular cosmological solutions. We study both the qualitative dynamics of the homogeneous and isotropic background and the evolution of inhomogeneous linear…
In the framework of scalar-tensor theories of gravity, we construct a new kind of cosmological model that conflates inflation and ekpyrosis. During a phase of conflation, the universe undergoes accelerated expansion, but with crucial…
We explore the idea of restoring the full diffeomorphism (Diff) invariance in theories with only transverse diffeomorphisms (TDiff) by the introduction of additional fields. In particular, we consider in detail the case of a TDiff invariant…
We study adiabatic (curvature) and entropy (isocurvature) perturbations produced during a period of cosmological inflation that is driven by multiple scalar fields with an arbitrary interaction potential. A local rotation in field space is…
An adiabatic approach is developed for the problem of boundary friction between two atomically smooth and incommensurate solid surfaces, separated by a monolayer of lubricant atoms. This method permits to consider very slow macroscopic…
We present a novel theory of the very early universe which addresses the traditional horizon and flatness problems of big bang cosmology and predicts a scale invariant spectrum of perturbations. Unlike inflation, this scenario requires no…
For a single scalar field with unit sound speed minimally coupled to Einstein gravity, there are exactly three distinct cosmological solutions which produce a scale invariant spectrum of curvature perturbations in a dynamical attractor…
Some recent studies based on numerical relativity simulations claim that slow contraction/ekpyrosis is strongly preferred over inflation as the smoothing mechanism that brought the universe into the homogeneous, isotropic and flat state we…
The standard structure formation scenario is successful on linear scales. Several apparent problems affect it however at galactic scales, such as the small scale problems at low redshift and more recent issues involving early massive galaxy…
In the context of a ghost free $f(R,\mathcal{G})$ model, we present a non-singular cosmological scenario in which the universe initially contracts through an ekpyrotic phase having a bouncing like behaviour, and following the bounce, it…
If the inflaton is a heavy scalar field, it may equilibrate slower than some other degrees of freedom, e.g. non-Abelian gauge bosons. In this case, perturbations in the inflaton field and in a thermal plasma coexist from a given moment…