Related papers: The Cyclic Universe: Some Historical Notes
Our first goal in this work is to study general and model-independent properties of cyclic cosmologies. The large number of studies of bouncing cosmologies and different cyclic scenarios published recently calls for a proper understanding…
In this work we propose a new general model of eternal cyclic Universe. We start from the assumption that quantum gravity corrections can be effectively accounted by the addition of higher order curvature terms in the Lagrangian density for…
This paper examines the theory of a Babylonian origin of Aryabhata's planetary constants. It shows that Aryabhata's basic constant is closer to the Indian counterpart than to the Babylonian one. Sketching connections between Aryabhata's…
Recent advances in understanding the propagation of perturbations through the transition from big crunch to big bang (esp. Tolley et al. hep-th/0306109) make it possible for the first time to consider the full set of phenomenological…
This paper provides an overview of the birth and early development of Indian astronomy. Taking account of significant new findings from archaeology and literary analysis, it is shown that early mathematical astronomy arose in India in the…
The evidence for a Big Bang origin of the Universe is truly compelling, though its cause remains a complete mystery. As the cosmic spacetime is revealed to us with ever improving detail, however, we are beginning to refine the range of its…
The aim of this thesis is to question some of the basic assumptions that go into building the $\Lambda$CDM model of our universe. The assumptions we focus on are the initial conditions of the universe, the fundamental forces in the universe…
In these lectures I focus on early universe models which can explain the currently observed structure on large scales. I begin with a survey of inflationary cosmology, the current paradigm for understanding the origin of the universe as we…
During the past two decades, cosmologists turned to particle physics in order to explore the physics of the very early Universe. The main link between the physics of the smallest and largest structures in the Universe is the idea of…
We investigate the full 5D dynamics of general braneworld models. Without making any further assumptions we show that cyclic behavior can arise naturally in a fraction of physically accepted solutions. The model does not require brane…
Combining intervals of ekpyrotic (ultra-slow) contraction with a (non-singular) classical bounce naturally leads to a novel cyclic theory of the universe in which the Hubble parameter, energy density and temperature oscillate periodically,…
One of the challenges of constructing a successful cyclic universe scenario is to be able to incorporate the second law of thermodynamics which typically leads to Tolman's problem of ever shrinking cycles. In this paper we construct a…
How did it all begin? Although this question has undoubtedly lingered for as long as humans have walked the Earth, the answer still eludes us. Yet since my grandparents were born, scientists have been able to refine this question to a…
The properties of universes are explored that are entirely in the interior of black holes in another universe, a `mother universe'. It is argued that these models offer a paradigm that may shed a new light on old cosmological problems. The…
Phase-plane stability analysis of a dynamical system describing the Universe as a two-fraction fluid containing baryonic dust and real virial gas quintessence is presented. Existence of a stable periodic solution experiencing inflationary…
The earliest origins of mathematics in the Indian subcontinent is generally dated around 800-500 BCE when the {\em Sulbasutras} are thought to have been written. In this article we suggest that mathematical thinking in South Asia, in…
Suspicions that the world might be some sort of a machine or algorithm existing ``in the mind'' of some symbolic number cruncher have lingered from antiquity. Although popular at times, the most radical forms of this idea never reached…
Time has always played a crucial role in cosmology. I review some of the aspects of the present cosmological model which are more directly related to time, such as: the definition of a cosmic time; the existence of typical timescales and…
We address how to construct an infinitely cyclic universe model. A major consideration is to make the entropy cyclic which requires the entropy to be reset to zero in each cycle expansion to turnaround, to contraction, to bounce, etc. Here…
The solar system has changed dramatically since its birth, and so did our understanding of it. A considerable research effort has been invested in the past decade in an attempt to reconstruct the solar system history, including the earliest…