Related papers: Initial Conditions in String Cosmology
Inflation has been the leading early universe scenario for two decades, and has become an accepted element of the successful `cosmic concordance' model. However, there are many puzzling features of the resulting theory. It requires both…
I review the "Trans-Planckian Censorship Conjecture" (TCC) and its implications for cosmology, in particular for the inflationary universe scenario. Whereas the inflationary scenario is tightly constrained by the TCC, alternative early…
We examine the possibility that circles in the cosmic microwave background could be formed by the interaction of a gravitational wave pulse emitted in some pre-big-bang phase of the universe with the last scattering surface. We derive the…
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.…
In infinitely cyclic cosmology past eras are discussed using set theory and transfinite numbers. One consistent scenario, already in the literature, is where there is always a countably infinite number, $\aleph_0$, of universes and no big…
In this work, we revisit the dynamics of pre-inflationary universe with a family of $\alpha-$attractor potentials, in the framework of loop quantum cosmology, in which the big bang singularity is generically resolved purely with quantum…
String theory can (in principle) describe gravity at all curvature scales, and can be applied to cosmology to look back in time beyond the Planck epoch. The duality symmetries of string theory suggest a cosmological picture in which the…
We prove the conditions under which scaling cosmologies are inevitable late-time attractors of multi-field multi-exponential potentials, independently of initial conditions. The advantage of such scaling cosmologies is that the time…
Analyzing quantum cosmological scenarios containing one scalar field with exponential potential, we have obtained a universe model which realizes a classical dust contraction from very large scales, the initial repeller of the model, and…
This is a pedagogical introduction to the basics of the cosmic string theory and also a review of the recent progress made with respect to the macrophysical predictions of the theory. Topics covered include, string formation and evolution,…
In the light of the recent results concerning CMB observations and GW detection we address the question of whether it is possible, in a self-consistent inflationary framework, to simultaneously generate a spectrum of scalar metric…
Dark matter could be composed by black-hole remnants formed before the big-bang era in a bouncing cosmology. This hypothetical scenario has major implications on the issue of the arrow of time: it would upset a common attribution of past…
It is stressed that the kinematical problems of the standard cosmological model can be solved by a phase of accelerated contraction of the cosmic scale factor. Such a behaviour is only a particular case of a more general ``pre-big-bang"…
We present a short review of possible applications of the Wheeler-De Witt equation to cosmological models based on the low-energy string effective action, and characterised by an initial regime of asymptotically flat, low energy, weak…
In physical theories, boundary or initial conditions play the role of selecting special situations which can be described by a theory with its general laws. Cosmology has long been suspected to be different in that its fundamental theory…
The Standard Model of cosmology states a surprising composition of the Universe, in which ordinary matter accounts for less than 5%. The remaining 95% are composed of ~70% Dark Energy and ~25% Dark Matter. However, those two components have…
String theory posesses numerous axion candidates. The recent realization that the compactification radius in string theory might be large means that these states can solve the strong CP problem. This still leaves the question of the…
We study the cosmological implications of the one-loop terms in the string expansion. In particular, we find non-singular solutions which interpolate between a contracting universe and an expanding universe, and show that these solutions…
Milne-like spacetimes are a class of FLRW models which admit $C^0$ spacetime extensions through the big bang. The boundary of a Milne-like spacetime can be identified with a null cone in the extension. We find that the comoving observers…
Time-dependent solutions of supergravity and string theory are studied. The examples are obtained from de Sitter deformation of gauge/gravity dualities, analytical continuation of static solutions, and ``exactly solvable'' worldsheet…