Related papers: The Cyclic Universe: An Informal Introduction
We confront the big bang for the beginning of the universe with an equivalent picture of a slow freeze - a very cold and slowly evolving universe. In the freeze picture the masses of elementary particles increase and the gravitational…
Consider the scenario, in which human civilization undergoes periodic eras of progression and regression, and consequently, changes in cosmological knowledge are cyclic. There exist solutions of general theory of relativity, such as the…
In this article, we consider a bouncing Universe, as described for example by Loop Quantum Cosmology. If the current acceleration is due to a true cosmological constant, this constant is naturally conserved through the bounce and the…
For two decades the hot big-bang model as been referred to as the standard cosmology -- and for good reason. For just as long cosmologists have known that there are fundamental questions that are not answered by the standard cosmology and…
Cosmological hysteresis is a purely thermodynamical phenomenon caused by the gradient in pressure, hence the characteristic equation of state during the expansion and contraction phases of the universe are different, provided that the…
In the Emergent scenario, the Universe should evolve from a non-singular state replacing the typical singularity of General Relativity, for any initial condition. For the scalar field model in [1] we show that only a set of measure zero of…
We consider a novel model of cosmic inflation. In our model one does not need any specific matter field to drive inflation, but inflation stems from the microscopic, Planck scale structure of spacetime, thus being of quantum gravitational…
The early stages of the universe evolution are discussed according to the hot big bang model and the grand unified theories. The shortcomings of big bang are summarized and their resolution by inflationary cosmology is sketched.…
For models of gravity coupled to hyperbolic sigma models, such as the metric-scalar sector of IIB supergravity, we show how smooth trajectories in the `augmented target space' connect FLRW cosmologies to non-extremal D-instantons through a…
We introduce "anamorphic" cosmology, an approach for explaining the smoothness and flatness of the universe on large scales and the generation of a nearly scale-invariant spectrum of adiabatic density perturbations. The defining feature is…
During the past two decades, cosmologists turned to particle physics in order to explore the physics of the very early Universe. The main link between the physics of the smallest and largest structures in the Universe is the idea of…
Over the past three years we have determined the basic features of our Universe. It is spatially flat; accelerating; comprised of 1/3 a new form of matter, 2/3 a new form of energy, with some ordinary matter and a dash of massive neutrinos;…
In cosmology the number of scientists using the framework of an expanding universe is very high. This model, the big-bang, is now overwhelmingly present in almost all aspects of society. It is the main stream cosmology of today. A small…
In this paper, we present a new scenario of the early Universe that contains a pre big bang Ekpyrotic phase. By combining this with a ghost condensate, the theory explicitly violates the null energy condition without developing any…
Astronomical observations have shown that the expansion of the universe is at present accelerating, in a way consistent with the presence of a positive cosmological constant. This is a major puzzle, because we do not understand: why the…
The Pre-Big Bang cosmology inspired generations of cosmologists in attempts to cure the initial Big Bang singularity using a fundamental length scale as proposed by String Theory. The existence of a phase of collapse/inflation with…
In this work we propose an alternative scheme for an Emergent Universe scenario where the universe is initially in a static state supported by a scalar field located in a false vacuum. The universe begins to evolve when, by quantum…
We present a short introduction to a non-standard cosmological scenario motivated by the duality symmetries of string theory, in which the big bang singularity is replaced with a "big bounce" at high but finite curvature. The bouncing epoch…
The great emptiness is a possible beginning of the Universe in the infinite past of physical time. For the epoch of great emptiness particles are extremely rare and effectively massless. Only expectation values of fields and average…
Recently, the notion that the number of vacua is enormous has received increased attentions, which may be regarded as a possible anthropical explanation to incredible small cosmological constant. Further, a dynamical mechanisms to implement…