Related papers: Classically stable non-singular cosmological bounc…
By considering a simplified but exact model for realizing the ekpyrotic scenario, we clarify various assumptions that have been used in the literature. In particular, we discuss the new ekpyrotic prescription for passing the perturbations…
We study the cosmology of a Lee-Wick type scalar field theory. First, we consider homogeneous and isotropic background solutions and find that they are nonsingular, leading to cosmological bounces. Next, we analyze the spectrum of…
We consider bouncing cosmologies in which an ekpyrotic contraction phase with w >> 1 is followed by a bouncing phase with w < -1 that violates the null energy condition. The bouncing phase, induced by ghost condensation, is designed to…
An extremely fast exponential expansion of the Universe is typical for the stable version of the inflationary model, based on the anomaly-induced action of gravity. The total amount of exponential $e$-folds could be very large, before the…
A bouncing scenario of a flat homogeneous and isotropic universe is explored by using the reconstruction technique for the power-law parametrization of the Hubble parameter in a modified gravity theory with higher-order curvature and trace…
Field theories which violate the null energy condition (NEC) are of interest for the solution of the cosmological singularity problem and for models of cosmological dark energy with the equation of state parameter $w<-1$. We discuss the…
We perform a detailed investigation of the simplest possible cosmological model in which a bounce can occur, namely that where the dynamics is led by a simple massive scalar field in a general self-interacting potential and a background…
We study a cosmological scenario featuring an early phase of null energy condition (NEC) violation. Within this framework, we show that perturbative unitarity bounds place strong constraints on both the amplitude and the spectral tilt of…
In this work we demonstrate that wormholes can in principle be naturally created during the cosmological bounce without the need for the exotic matter or any kind of additional modifications of the gravitational sector, apart from the one…
We consider a simple cosmological model that includes a long ekpyrotic contraction stage and smooth bounce after it. Ekpyrotic behavior is due to a scalar field with a negative exponential potential, whereas the Galileon field produces…
We propose a novel branch of the Galilean Genesis scenario as an alternative to inflation, in which the universe starts expanding from Minkowski in the asymptotic past with a gross violation of the null energy condition (NEC). This variant,…
We present a new class of nonsingular bounce cosmology free from instabilities, using a single scalar field coupled to gravity within the framework of the Degenerate Higher-Order Scalar-Tensor (DHOST) theories. In this type of scenarios,…
In this work, we investigate the notion of time and unitarity in the vicinity of a bounce in quantum cosmology, that is, a turning point for the scale factor. Because WKB methods drastically fail near a turning point, the scale factor…
We present a full investigation of scalar perturbations in a rather generic model for a regular bouncing universe, where the bounce is triggered by an effective perfect fluid with negative energy density. Long before and after the bounce…
We analyze quantum-mechanical counterpart of Newtonian cosmology and show that effects of zero-point motion eliminate classical density singularity. Quantum effects are particularly significant for closed Universes where without the…
It is generically believed that higher-order curvature corrections to the Einstein-Hilbert action might cure the curvature singularities that plague general relativity. Here we consider Einstein-scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity, the only…
Cuscuton Gravity is characterized as a scalar field that can be added to general relativity without introducing any new dynamical degrees of freedom on a cosmological background. Yet, it modifies gravity such that spacetime singularities…
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…
A bouncing Universe avoids the big-bang singularity. Using the time-like and null Raychaudhhuri equations, we explore whether the bounce near the big-bang, within a broad spectrum of modified theories of gravity, allows for cosmologically…
We propose a mechanism borrowed from string theory which yields a non-singular transition from a phase of Ekpyrotic contraction to the expanding phase of Standard Big Bang cosmology. The same mechanism converts the initial vacuum spectrum…