Related papers: A Brief Comment on "The Pyrotechnic Universe"
This chapter provides a review of the frameworks developed for cosmological perturbation theory in loop quantum cosmology, and applications to various models of the early universe including inflation, ekpyrosis and the matter bounce, with…
We wish to demonstrate how the presence of a dynamic cosmological parameter, plus a model of the universe as a quantum computer can be combined to give us a picture of early universe inflationary physics which is quite non linear, with a…
A bouncing cosmology with an initial matter-dominated phase of contraction during which scales which are currently probed with cosmological observations exit the Hubble radius provides a mechanism alternative to inflation for producing a…
Inflation in the early Universe is one of the most promising probes of gravity in the high-energy regime. However, observable scales give access to a limited window in the inflationary dynamics. In this essay, we argue that quantum…
This is a pedagogical introduction to early cosmology and the host of fundamental physics involved in it (particle physics, grand unification and general relativity). Inflation and the inflaton field are the central theme of this review.…
We discuss the possibility that the inflationary paradigm, undoubtfully today's best framework to understand all the present cosmological data, may still have some viable challengers. The underlying idea for such discussions is that…
In this work we investigate the behavior of three-dimensional (3D) cosmological models. The simulation of inflationary and dark-energy-dominated eras are among the possible results in these 3D formulations; taking as starting point the…
In order to draw out the essential behavior of the universe, investigations of early universe cosmology often reduce the complex system to a simple integrable system. Inflationary models are of this kind as they focus on simple scalar field…
Astrophysical observations provide a picture of the universe as a 4-dim homogeneous and isotropic flat space-time dominated by an unknown form of dark energy. To achieve such a cosmology one has to consider in the early universe an…
These lecture notes provide a concise, rapid and pedagogical introduction to several advanced topics in contemporary cosmology. The discussion of thermal history of the universe, linear perturbation theory, theory of CMBR temperature…
In bouncing cosmological models, either classical or quantum, the big bang singularity is replaced by a regular bounce. A challenging question in such models is how to keep the shear under control in the contracting phase, as it is…
The big bang model and the history of the early universe according to the grand unified theories are introduced. The shortcomings of big bang are discussed together with their resolution by inflationary cosmology. Inflation, the subsequent…
The world view suggested by quantum cosmology is that inflating universes with all possible values of the fundamental constants are spontaneously created out of nothing. I explore the consequences of the assumption that we are a `typical'…
Over 30 years ago, Barrow & Tipler proposed the principle according to which the action integrated over the entire 4-manifold describing the universe should be finite. Here we explore the cosmological consequences of a related criterion,…
This contribution gives a brief overview of the theoretical ideas underlying our current understanding of the early Universe. Confronting the predictions of the early Universe models with cosmological observations, in particular of the…
We study oscillatory universes within the context of Loop Quantum Cosmology. We make a comparative study of flat and positively curved universes sourced by scalar fields with either positive or negative potentials. We investigate how…
We consider models of accelerating Universe elaborated for Finsler like gravity theories constructed on tangent bundles to Lorentz manifolds. In the osculating approximation, certain locally anisotropic configurations are similar to those…
A new cosmological solution of the gravitational field equations in the generalized Randall-Sundrum model for an anisotropic brane with Bianchi I geometry and with perfect fluid as matter sources is presented. The matter is described by a…
We review the current standard model for the evolution of the Universe from an early inflationary epoch to the complex hierarchy of structure seen today. We summarize and provide key references for the following topics: observations of the…
These lecture notes intend to form a short pedagogical introduction to inflationary cosmology, highlighting selected areas of recent progress such as reheating and the theory of cosmological perturbations. Problems of principle for…