Related papers: Matrix Big Brunch
We perform a detailed study of stringy moduli-driven cosmologies between the end of inflation and the commencement of the Hot Big Bang, including both the background and cosmological perturbations: a period that can cover half the lifetime…
We study an exact model of string theory propagating in a space-time containing regions with closed time-like curves (CTCs) separated from a finite cosmological region bounded by a Big Bang and a Big Crunch. The model is an non-trivial…
I discuss cosmological models either derived from, or inspired by, string theory or M-theory. In particular I discuss solutions in the low-energy effective theory and the role of the dilaton, moduli and antisymmetric form fields in the…
We present a novel solution to the nature and formation of the initial state of the Universe. It derives from the physics of a generally covariant extension of Matrix theory. We focus on the dynamical state space of this background…
An accelerating Universe can be accommodated naturally within non-critical string theory, in which scattering is described by a superscattering matrix \$ that does not factorize as a product of $S$- and $S^\dagger$-matrix elements and time…
In recent work Kachru, Kumar and Silverstein introduced a special class of non-supersymmetric type II string theories in which the cosmological constant vanishes at the first two orders of perturbation theory. Heuristic arguments suggest…
At its very beginning, the universe is believed to have grown exponentially in size via the mechanism of inflation. The almost scale-invariant density perturbation spectrum predicted by inflation is strongly supported by cosmological…
I review various aspects of the pre-big-bang scenario and of its main open problems, with emphasis on the role played by the dilaton. Since the dilaton is a compelling consequence of string theory, tests of this scenario are direct tests of…
We present a new class of non-singular string cosmologies in d space-time dimensions. At very early times, \tau << \tau_c, the Universe is described by a flat \sigma-model metric, a constant maximal temperature T_c and super-weak string…
We investigate BBN in scalar-tensor theories of gravity with arbitrary matter couplings and self-interaction potentials. We first consider the case of a massless dilaton with a quadratic coupling to matter. We perform a full numerical…
We consider the theory obtained by adding to the usual string frame dilaton gravity action specially constructed higher derivative terms motivated by the limited curvature construction of [MukhanovET1992a] and determine the spatially…
This article, based on the Klein lecture, contains some new results and new speculations on various topics. They include discussion of open strings in the AdS space, unusual features of D-branes, conformal gauge theories in higher…
The purpose of this review is to discuss recent developments occurring at the interface of cosmology with string and M-theory. We begin with a short review of 1980s string cosmology and the Brandenberger-Vafa mechanism for explaining…
We argue that in the tensionless phase of string theory where the stringy gauge symmetries are unbroken, (at least some) cosmological singularities can be understood as gauge artefacts. We present two conceptually related, but distinct,…
We consider two dimensional string backgrounds. We discuss the physics of long strings that come from infinity. These are related to non-singlets in the dual matrix model description.
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…
We review physical motivations, phenomenological consequences, and open problems of the so-called pre-big bang scenario in superstring cosmology.
The two major goals in fundamental physics are: 1) Unification of all forces incorporating relativity and quantum theory, 2) Understanding the origin and evolution of the Universe as well as explaining the smallness of the cosmological…
Despite impressive phenomenological successes, cosmological models are incomplete without an understanding of what happened at the big bang singularity. Depending on the model, one would like to understand how appropriate initial conditions…
It seems likely that string theory has a landscape of vacua that includes very many metastable de Sitter spaces. However, as emphasized by Banks, Dine and Gorbatov, no current framework exists for examining these metastable vacua in string…