Related papers: From Big Crunch to Big Bang
We describe how cosmology has converged towards a beautiful model of the Universe: the Big Bang Universe. We praise this model, but show there is a dark side to it. This dark side is usually called ``the cosmological problems'': a set of…
We investigate the emergence of a quantum Big-Bounce in the context of an isotropic Universe, filled by a self-interacting scalar field, which plays the role of a physical clock. The bouncing cosmology is the result of a scattering process,…
In this review, a number of approaches to superstring cosmology which make use of key features which distinguish string theory from point particle theories are discussed, with particular emphasis on emergent scenarios. One motivation for…
We consider a spacetime formed by several pieces having common timelike boundary which plays the role of a junction between them. We establish junction conditions for fields of various spin and derive the resulting laws of wave propagation…
In this paper we study the description of the Universe based on the low energy superstring theory modified by the Loop Quantum Gravity effects.This approach was proposed by De Risi et al. in the Phys. Rev. D {\bf 76} (2007) 103531. We show…
Superunification underwent a major paradigm shift in 1984 when eleven-dimensional supergravity was knocked off its pedestal by ten-dimensional superstrings. This last year has witnessed a new shift of equal proportions: perturbative…
In the framework of scalar-tensor theories of gravity, we construct a new kind of cosmological model that conflates inflation and ekpyrosis. During a phase of conflation, the universe undergoes accelerated expansion, but with crucial…
We consider certain aspects of cosmological dynamics of a spatially curved Universe in $f(T)$ gravity. Local analysis allows us to find conditions for bounces and for static solutions; these conditions appear to be in general less…
Orbifold branes are studied in the framework of the 11-dimensional Horava-Witten heterotic M-Theory. It is found that the effective cosmological constant can be easily lowered to its current observational value by the mechanism of large…
We propose an alternative inflationary universe scenario in the context of Randall-Sundrum braneworld cosmology. In this new scenario the existence of extra-dimension(s) plays an essential role. First, the brane universe is initially in the…
Quantum gravity has matured over the last decade to a theory which can tell in a precise and explicit way how cosmological singularities of general relativity are removed. A branch of the universe "before" the classical big bang is obtained…
We investigate the different meanings that the concept of Quantum Bounce acquires in various formalisms. The original idea refers to the phenomenology that appears in the Klein-Gordon framework when homogeneous cosmologies are considered.…
These proceedings are based on lectures delivered at the "RTN Winter School on Strings, Supergravity and Gauge Theories", CERN, January 16 - January 20, 2006. The school was mainly aimed at Ph.D. students and young postdocs. The lectures…
An inhomogeneous version of pre--Big Bang cosmology emerges, within string theory, from quite generic initial conditions, provided they lie deeply inside the weak-coupling, low-curvature regime. Large-scale homogeneity, flatness, and…
The last 20 years have seen an explosion in our understanding of the large-scale distribution and motions of galaxies in the nearby universe. The field has moved from a largely qualitative, morphological description of the structures seen…
We consider a class of toy models where a spatially flat universe is filled with a perfect fluid. The dynamics is found exactly for all these models. In one family, the perfect fluid is of the phantom type and we find that the universe is…
In light of the recent observational data coming from the sky we have two significant directions in the field of theoretical cosmology recently. First, we are now able to make use of present observations, such as the Planck and BICEP2 data,…
This short review is addressed to cosmologists. General relativity predicts that space-time comes to an end and physics comes to a halt at the big-bang. Recent developments in loop quantum cosmology have shown that these predictions cannot…
This is a summary of a course given at the Fourth Mexican School on Gravitation and Mathematical Physics on some aspects of PBB cosmology. After introductory remarks the lectures concentrate on some amusing consequences derived from the…
We discuss the inhomogeneous multidimensional mixmaster model in view of appearing, near the cosmological singularity, a scenario for the dimensional compactification in correspondence to an 11-dimensional space-time. Our analysis…