Related papers: Cosmic Topology
The basic hypothesis of a post-Copernican Cosmological theory is that {\em all the points} of the Universe have to be essentially equivalent: this hypothesis is required in order to avoid any privileged {\em observer}. This assumption has…
The topology of space is usually assumed simply connected, but could be multi-connected. We review in the latter case the possibility that topological defects arising at high energy phase transitions might still be present and find that…
These lectures were addressed to nonspecialists willing to learn some basic facts, approaches, tools and observational evidence which conform modern cosmology. The aim is also to try to complement the many excellent treatises that exists on…
If the spatial section of the universe is multiply connected, repeated images or patterns are expected to be detected observationally. However, due to the finite distance to the last scattering surface, such pattern repetitions could be…
Cosmology has come a long way from being based on a small number of observations to being a data-driven precision science. We discuss the questions "What is observable?", "What in the Universe is knowable?" and "What are the fundamental…
Cosmological singularity theorems such as that of Hawking and Penrose assume local curvature conditions as well as global ones like the existence of a compact (achronal) slice. Here, we prove a new singularity theorem for chronological…
The question of the global topology of the Universe (cosmic topology) is still open. In the $\Lambda$CDM concordance model it is assumed that the space of the Universe possesses the trivial topology of $\mathbb{R}^3$ and thus that the…
Centre manifold theory is applied to some dynamical systems arising from spatially homogeneous cosmological models. Detailed information is obtained concerning the late-time behaviour of solutions of the Einstein equations of Bianchi type…
Invited contribution to the Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics (2nd edition), providing an overview over some main ideas and results in quantum cosmology. Key points: Canonical quantisation of homogeneous, isotropic cosmology; discussion…
The gauge symmetry of classical general relativity under space-time diffeomorphisms implies that any path integral quantization which can be interpreted as a sum over space-time geometries, gives rise to a formal invariant of smooth…
Cosmology contributes a good deal to the investigation of variation of fundamental physical constants. High resolution data is available and allows for detailed analysis over cosmological distances and a multitude of methods were developed.…
The approximate homogeneity of spatial sections of the Universe is well supported observationally, but the inhomogeneity of the spatial sections is even better supported. Here, we consider the implications of inhomogeneity in dust models…
We consider globally hyperbolic spacetimes with compact Cauchy surfaces in a setting compatible with the presence of a positive cosmological constant. More specifically, for 3+1 dimensional spacetimes which satisfy the null energy condition…
When the topology of the universe is non trivial, it has been shown that there are constraints on the network of domain walls, cosmic strings and monopoles. I generalize these results to textures and study the cosmological implications of…
Quantum theory, general relativity, the standard model of particle physics, and the $\Lambda$CDM model of cosmology have all been spectacularly successful within their respective regimes of applicability, but many central problems remain…
The measurements of CMB anisotropy have opened up a window for probing the global topology of the universe on length scales comparable to and beyond the Hubble radius. We have developed a new method for calculating the CMB anisotropy in…
The manifold hypothesis, which assumes that data lies on or close to an unknown manifold of low intrinsic dimension, is a staple of modern machine learning research. However, recent work has shown that real-world data exhibits distinct…
Studies of galaxy clusters have proved crucial in helping to establish the standard model of cosmology, with a universe dominated by dark matter and dark energy. A theoretical basis that describes clusters as massive, multi-component,…
The problem of topology change description in gravitation theory is analized in detailes. It is pointed out that in standard four-dimensional theories the topology of space may be considered as a particular case of boundary conditions (or…
The standard model of cosmology has provided a good phenomenological description of a wide range of observations both at astrophysical and cosmological scales for several decades. This concordance model is constructed by a universal…