Related papers: From Big Crunch to Big Bang: A Quantum String Cosm…
We consider a higher dimensional gravity theory with a negative kinetic energy scalar field and a cosmological constant. We find that the theory admits an exact cosmological solution for the scale factor of our universe. It has the feature…
We consider braneworld scenarios including the leading correction to the Einstein-Hilbert action suggested by superstring theory, the Gauss-Bonnet term. We obtain and study the complete set of equations governing the cosmological dynamics.…
We provide a quantum picture for the emergence of a bouncing cosmology, according to the idea that a semiclassical behavior of the Universe towards the singularity is not available in many relevant Minisuperspace models. In particular, we…
We investigate quantum corrections for a cosmological solution of the string effective action. Starting point is a classical solution containing an antisymmetric tensor field, a dilaton and a modulus field which has singularities in the…
In this work we review the application of a functional method, serving as an alternative to the Wilsonian Exact Renormalization approach, to stringy bosonic $\sigma$-models with metric and dilaton backgrounds on a spherical world sheet [1].…
A review is attempted of physical motivations, theoretical and phenomenological aspects, as well as outstanding problems, of the pre-big bang scenario in string cosmology.
We show that, in the presence of a string gas, simple higher-derivative modifications to the effective action for gravity can lead to bouncing and cyclic cosmological models. The modifications bound the expansion rate and avoid…
A family of cosmological solutions with $(n+1)$ Ricci-flat spaces in the theory with several scalar fields and multiple exponential potential is obtained when coupling vectors in exponents obey certain relations. Two subclasses of solutions…
We consider a contracting universe and its transition to expansion through the big bang singularity with a time varying equation of state $w$, where $w$ approaches $1$ as the universe contracts to the big bang. We show that this singularity…
Some long standing issues concerning the quantum nature of the big bang are resolved in the context of homogeneous isotropic models with a scalar field. Specifically, the known results on the resolution of the big bang singularity in loop…
We compute the evolution of cosmological perturbations in a recently proposed Weyl-symmetric theory of two scalar fields with oppositely-signed conformal couplings to Einstein gravity. It is motivated from the minimal conformal extension of…
We show that the phase transition from the decelerating universe to the accelerating universe, which is of relevance to the cosmological coincidence problem, is possible in the semiclassically quantized two-dimensional dilaton gravity by…
A cosmological model describing the evolution of n Ricci-flat spaces (n>1) in the presence of 1-component perfect-fluid and minimally coupled scalar field is considered. When the pressures in all spaces are proportional to the density, the…
A unique description of the Big Crunch-Big Bang transition is given at the classical gravity level, along with a complete set of homogeneous, isotropic, analytic solutions in scalar-tensor cosmology, with radiation and curvature. All…
We discuss some aspects of string cosmology with an emphasis on the role played by the dilaton. A cosmological scenario based on the assumption that all spatial dimensions are periodic so that winding modes play an important role is…
We study the classical dynamics of the universe undergoing a transition from contraction to expansion through a big bang singularity. The dynamics is described by a system of differential equations for a set of physical quantities, such as…
We consider a codimension-one brane embedded in a gravity-dilaton bulk action, whose symmetries are compatible with T-duality along the space-like directions parallel to the brane, and the bulk time-like direction. The equations of motions…
An oscillating, compact Friedmann universe with a massive conformally coupled scalar field is studied in the framework of quantum cosmology. The scalar field is treated as a perturbation and we look for solutions of the Wheeler-DeWitt…
In this contribution we sketch a branch-cut quantum formulation of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation analytically continued to the complex plane. As a starting point, we base our approach on the Ho\v{r}ava-Lifshitz formulation of gravity, which…
Some of the phenomenological implications of string cosmological models are reviewed, with particular attention to the spectra of the tensor, scalar and vector modes of the geometry. A class of self-dual string cosmological models is…