Related papers: Can String Theory Avoid Cosmological Singularities…
The idea of extra-dimensions has recently gone through a renewal with the hypothesis, suggested by recent developments in string theory, that ordinary matter is confined to a sub-space, called brane, embedded in a higher dimensional…
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.…
The $n+1$-dimensional Milne Universe with extra free directions is used to construct simple FRW cosmological string models in four dimensions, describing expansion in the presence of matter with $p=k \rho $, $k=(4-n)/3n$. We then consider…
We investigate the string configuration that, in the framework of the theoretical scenario introduced in [1], corresponds to the most entropic configuration in the phase space of all the configurations of the universe. This describes a…
The motion of a test Dq-brane in a Dp-brane background is studied. The induced metric on the test brane is then interpreted as the cosmology of the test brane universe. One is then able to resolve the resulting cosmological singularities.…
String tension fundamentally determines the properties of strings; yet its value is often assigned arbitrarily, creating a fine-tuning problem. We describe a mechanism for dynamically generating string tension in a flat or almost flat…
Changing the dimensionality of the space-time at the smallest and largest distances has manifold theoretical advantages. If the space is lower dimensional in the high energy regime, then there are no ultraviolet divergencies in field…
We consider the effects on cosmology of higher-derivative modifications of (effective) gravity that make it asymptotically free without introducing ghosts. The weakening of gravity at short distances allows pressure to prevent the…
We show that generically the initial singularity is isotropic in spatially homogeneous cosmological models in the brane-world scenario. We then argue that it is plausible that the initial singularity is isotropic in typical brane world…
Arguably the simplest model of a cosmological singularity in string theory, the Lorentzian orbifold $\Real^{1,1}/boost$ is known to lead to severe divergences in scattering amplitudes of untwisted states, indicating a large backreaction…
The spectrum of stable electrically and magnetically charged supersymmetric particles can change discontinuously as one changes the vacuum on the Coulomb branch of gauge theories with extended supersymmetry in four dimensions. We show that…
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…
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 effect of the solitonic degree of freedom in string cosmology following the line of Rama. The gas of solitonic p-brane is treated as a perfect fluid in a Brans-Dicke type theory. In this paper, we find analytic solutions for a…
It was recently shown that velocity-dependent forces between parallel fundamental strings moving apart in a $D-$dimensional spacetime implied an accelerating expanding universe in $D-1$-dimensional space-time. Exact solutions were obtained…
String cosmology aims at providing a reliable description of the very early Universe in the regime where standard-model physics is no longer appropriate, and where we can safely apply the basic ingredients of superstring models such as…
Cosmic strings are predicted by many field-theory models, and may have been formed at a symmetry-breaking transition early in the history of the universe, such as that associated with grand unification. They could have important…
The dynamics of the early universe may have been profoundly influenced by spatial anisotropies. A search for such backgrounds in the context of string cosmology has uncovered the existence of an entire class of (spatatially) homogeneous but…
Progress on string theory in curved spacetimes since 1992 are reviewed. After a short introduction on strings in Minkowski and curved spacetimes, we focus on strings in cosmological spacetimes. The classical behaviour of strings in FRW and…
A string cosmology scenario ("pre-big-bang") postulates that the evolution of the Universe starts from a state of very small curvature and coupling, undergoes a long phase of dilaton-driven kinetic inflation and at some later time joins…