Related papers: A Fly in the SOUP
If our observable Universe is only a tiny region of a vastly larger and conformally older spacetime, then the usual formulations of the classical flatness and horizon problems of the Hot Big Bang can be reinterpreted as artifacts…
Choosing the three phenomenological models of the dynamical cosmological term $\Lambda$, viz., $\Lambda \sim (\dot a/a)^2$, $\Lambda \sim {\ddot a/a}$ and $\Lambda \sim \rho$ where $a$ is the cosmic scale factor, it has been shown by the…
Although the inflationary paradigm is the most widely accepted explanation for the current cosmological observations, it does not necessarily correspond to what actually happened in the early stages of our Universe. To decide on this issue,…
Non-singular bouncing cosmologies are well--motivated models for the early universe. Recent observational data are consistent with positive spatial curvature and allow for a natural collapsing and bouncing phase in the very early universe.…
A huge value of cosmological constant characteristic for the particle physics and the inflation of early Universe are inherently related to each other: one can construct a fine-tuned superpotential, which produces a flat potential of…
Yes, if the universe has compact topology. Inflation is currently the most elegant explanation of why the universe is old, large, nearly flat, homogeneous on large scales and structured on small scales. One of the weaknesses of the…
Cosmic inflation is arguably the most favoured paradigm of the very early Universe. It postulates an early phase of fast, nearly exponential, and accelerated expansion. Inflationary models are capable of explaining the overall flatness and…
We review here some recent results that show that inflationary cosmological models must contain initial singularities. We also present a new singularity theorem. The question of the initial singularity re-emerges in inflationary cosmology…
Vacuum energy, a prediction of quantum field theory, manifests itself as a cosmological constant in general relativity. In this Letter, we propose a novel inflationary scenario driven by a bare cosmological constant $\Lambda$, which…
An introductory account is given of the modern understanding of the physics of the early Universe. Particular emphasis is placed on the paradigm of cosmological inflation, which postulates a period of accelerated expansion during the…
We discuss the entropy and the size/homogeneity/horizon problems in power-law expanding universes with one scale initial conditions. We set the minimal scale $\Lambda = 10^{25}$ GeV at which a non-inflationary solution is possible and show…
It has been known for some time that the usual inference drawn from the observed near-flatness of the large-scale Universe - namely the existence of a cosmological "flatness problem", which is then taken as a partial, but key motivation for…
We study cosmological solutions for the very early universe beginning at the Planck scale for a universe containing radiation, curvature and, as a simplification of a possible scalar field potential, a cosmological constant term. The…
We re-analyze the question of the use of cosmological observations to infer the present state and future evolution of our patch of the universe. In particular, we discuss under which conditions one might be able to infer that our patch will…
In the present work we derive an exact solution of an isotropic and homogeneous Universe governed by $f(T)$ gravity. We show how the torsion contribution to the FRW cosmology can provide a \textit{unique} origin for both early and late…
Cosmological inflation is not the only early universe scenario consistent with current observational data. I will discuss the criteria for a successful early universe cosmology, compare a couple of the proposed scenarios (inflation,…
We propose a cosmological lingering phase for the initial state prior to inflation which would help address the singularity problem of inflation. The universe begins with a constant (Hagedorn) temperature and then transitions into an…
We present a new class of exact inflationary solutions for the evolution of a universe with spatial curvature, filled with a perfect fluid, a scalar field with potential $V_{\pm}(\phi)=\lambda(\phi^2\pm\delta^2)^2$ and a cosmological…
The inflationary scenario has become the paradigm of early universe cosmology, and - in conjuction with ideas from superstring theory - has led to speculations about an "inflationary multiverse". From a point of view of phenomenology, the…
The pre-big bang scenario describes the evolution of the Universe from an initial state approaching the flat, cold, empty, string perturbative vacuum. The choice of such an initial state is suggested by the present state of our Universe if…