Related papers: Predicting spatial curvature $\Omega_K$ in globall…
In a recent work, Boyle, Finn and Turok hypothesized a model of universe that does not violate the CPT-symmetry as alternative for inflation. With this approach they described the birth of the Universe from a pair of universes, one the CPT…
The periodic solution of the Friedmann equation in conformal time, implies that only cosmological perturbations exhibiting corresponding symmetries are physically permissible, leading to a discrete spectrum of allowed wave vectors.…
Much of modern cosmology relies on the Cosmological Principle, the assumption that the Universe is isotropic and homogeneous on sufficiently large scales, but it remains worthwhile to examine cosmological models that violate this principle…
We revisit the observational constraints on spatial curvature following recent claims that the Planck data favour a closed Universe. We use a new and statistically powerful Planck likelihood to show that the Planck temperature and…
We present a physics model for a time-symmetric Milne-like universe. The model is based on the $q$-theory approach to the cosmological constant problem, supplemented by an assumed vacuum-matter energy exchange possibly due to…
Is the universe finite or infinite, and what shape does it have? These fundamental questions, of which relatively little is known, are typically studied within the context of the standard model of cosmology where the universe is assumed to…
We propose a new type of cosmological model in which it is postulated that not only the temperature but also the curvature is limited by the mass scale of the Hagedorn temperature. We find that the big bang of this universe is smoothly…
The question of whether Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature and polarization data from Planck favor a spatially closed Universe with curvature parameter $\Omega_K<0$ has been the subject of recent intense discussions. Attempts to…
It is well known that observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) are highly sensitive to the spatial curvature of the Universe, k. Here we find that what is in fact being tightly constrained by small angle fluctuations is spatial…
It is necessary to make assumptions in order to derive models to be used for cosmological predictions and comparison with observational data. In particular, in standard cosmology the spatial curvature is assumed to be constant and zero (or…
The question of determining the spatial geometry of the Universe is of greater relevance than ever, as precision cosmology promises to verify inflationary predictions about the curvature of the Universe. We revisit the question of what can…
The concordance of the $\Lambda$CDM cosmological model in light of current observations has been the subject of an intense debate in recent months. The 2018 Planck Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature anisotropy power spectrum…
The curvature parameter tension between Planck 2018, cosmic microwave background lensing, and baryon acoustic oscillation data is measured using the suspiciousness statistic to be 2.5 to 3$\sigma$. Conclusions regarding the spatial…
We consider first order cosmological phase transitions (PT) happening at late times, below Standard Model (SM) temperatures $T_{\rm PT} \lesssim$ GeV. The inherently stochastic nature of bubble nucleation and the finite number of bubbles…
Penrose proposed that the big bang singularity should be constrained by requiring that the Weyl curvature vanishes there. The idea behind this past hypothesis is attractive because it constrains the initial conditions for the universe in…
The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropy constrains the geometry of the Universe because the positions of the acoustic peaks of the angular power spectrum depend strongly on the curvature of underlying three-dimensional space. In…
Cosmological Perturbation Theory (PT) is a useful tool to study the cumulants of the density and velocity fields in the large scale structure of the Universe. In Papers I & II of this series we saw that the Spherical Collapse (SC) model…
We discuss how the curvature of the universe can be robustly measured employing only the gross features of the CMB anisotropy spectrum. Though the position of the first peak is not robust, uncertainties in the model for structure formation…
We present a new approach to constructing inflationary models in closed universes. Conformal embedding of closed-universe models in a de Sitter background suggests a quantisation condition on the available conformal time. This condition…
The concordance model of cosmology predicts a universe which finishes in a finite amount of conformal time at a future conformal boundary. We show that for particular cases we study, the background variables and perturbations may be…