Related papers: CPT Symmetry in Projective de Sitter Universes
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…
It is shown that a first-order relativistic perturbation theory for the open, flat or closed Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker universe admits one, and only one, gauge-invariant quantity which describes the perturbation to the energy…
Dirac's theory of constrained Hamiltonian systems is applied to the minimal conformally invariant SU(5) grand-unified model studied at 1-loop level in a de Sitter universe. For this model, which represents a simple and interesting example…
Does inflation provide a compelling explanation for why the universe is so large, so flat, and so old, and a predictive theory of density perturbations? In this brief contribution (based on the role of the author as moderator of the…
While the standard, six-parameter, spatially flat $\Lambda$CDM model has been highly successful, certain anomalies in the cosmic microwave background bring out a tension between this model and observations. The statistical significance of…
We discuss recent papers by Hartle, Hawking and Hertog, which proposed that quantum cosmology could predict an inflating universe in models with negative scalar potentials. Here we show that this is a result of an underlying symmetry which…
In the setup of ghost condensation model the generalized second law of black hole thermodynamics can be respected under a radiatively stable assumption that couplings between the field responsible for ghost condensate and matter fields such…
We apply the principles of quantum mechanics and quantum cosmology to predict probabilities for our local observations of a universe undergoing false vacuum eternal inflation. At a sufficiently fine-grained level, histories of the universe…
These notes are intended as an introductory course for experimental particle physicists interested in the recent developments in astrophysics and cosmology. I will describe the standard Big Bang theory of the evolution of the universe, with…
Quantum and classical physical states are represented in a unified way when they are described by symplectic tomography. Therefore this representation allows us to study directly the necessary conditions for a classical universe to emerge…
An alternative inflationary model is proposed predicated upon a consideration of the form of the uncertainty principle in a curved background spacetime. An argument is presented suggesting a possible curvature dependence in the correct…
The representation theory of de Sitter space admits partially massless (PM) particles, but whether such particles can participate in consistent interacting theories remains unclear. We investigate the consistency of theories containing PM…
We discuss cosmological solutions for a diffeomorphism invariant gauge theory of the non-compact Lorentz group $SO(1,3)$. Besides the gauge bosons our model of pregeometry contains a vector field in the vector representation of $SO(1,3)$…
Recently in \cite{Anderson:2013zia, Anderson:2013ila}, it was shown that global de Sitter space is unstable even to the massive particle creation with no self-interactions. In this paper we study the instability by making use of the…
The energy density of the universe today may be dominated by the vacuum energy of a slowly rolling scalar field. Making a quantum expansion around such a time dependent solution is found to break fundamental symmetries of quantum field…
In this essay we explore analogies between macroscopic patterns, which result from a sequence of phase transitions/instabilities starting from a homogeneous state, and similar phenomena in cosmology, where a sequence of phase transitions in…
Production of gravitational vacuum defects and their contribution to the energy density of our Universe are discussed. These topological microstructures (defects) could be produced in the result of creation of the Universe from "nothing"…
Matrix theory is a proposed non-perturbative definition of superstring theory in which space is emergent. We begin a study of cosmology in the context of matrix theory. Specifically, we show that matrix theory can lead to an emergent…
The inflationary scenario is not the only paradigm of early universe cosmology which is consistent with current observations. General criteria will be presented which any successful early universe model must satisfy. Various ways, including…
Classically scale-invariant (and perturbative) theories provide a way to understand large hierarchies, as scales are generated through dimensional transmutation. They always lead to first-order phase transitions, since symmetries are…