Related papers: Scientific Eschatology
Although big bang cosmology effectively models even the most puzzling observational data, it offers no insight into why the cosmological expansion should occur at all. In this paper it is suggested that a finite Universe poses particular…
In 2007 an international conference engaged a reflection on the present conditions for sciences and scientific practice, to initiate a dialogue between science, philosophy, epistemology and sociology. Starting from many examples taken from…
These notes are intended as an introductory course for experimental particle physicists interested in the recent developments in astrophysics and cosmology. I will describe the standard Big Bang theory of the evolution of the universe, with…
We investigate whether an accelerating universe can be realized as an asymptotic late-time solution of FLRW-cosmology with multi-field multi-exponential potentials. Late-time cosmological solutions exhibit a universal behavior which enables…
A new universal constant of expansion has been discovered with amazing predictive power once its density-time relations have been deciphered. The new constant is kappa, the product of the gravitational constant, and the average total…
The physical instability of the Universe model with de Sitter beginning is proved in this article. 1. It is shown that even a small addition of ultrarelativistic matter turns the de Sitter Universe into the Universe with finite past. 2.…
A holistic view of the cosmological appearance and development of space is obtained by studying space as a spherically closed surface of a 4-sphere in a zero energy balance between motion and gravitation. Such an approach re-establishes…
Based on some observations, the apparent energy, associated with gravity, of vacuums is defined, with that of normal vacuums to be zero and that of the vacuums losing some energy to be negative. An important application of the energy is its…
We discuss a cosmological model where the universe shrinks rather than expands during the radiation and matter dominated periods. Instead, the Planck mass and all particle masses grow exponentially, with the size of atoms shrinking…
Assuming both that our Universe is evolving into a de Sitter space and a vanishing cosmological constant, leaves only the option that the observed acceleration is provided by a "kinetic" energy of a scalar field. From an effective field…
In this letter we investigate some consequences of considering our 4D observable universe as locally and isometrically embeded into a 5D spacetime, where gravity is described by a Brans-Dicke theory in vacuum. Once we impose the embeding…
Evolution of a universe with homogeneous extra dimensions is studied with the benefit of a well-chosen parameter space that provides a systematic, useful, and convenient way for analysis. In this model we find a natural evolution pattern…
The exactly solvable quantum model of the homogeneous, isotropic and closed universe in the matter-energy production epoch is considered. It is assumed that the universe is originally filled with a uniform scalar field and a perfect fluid…
We discuss the cosmological constant problem in the light of dilatation symmetry and its possible anomaly. For dilatation symmetric quantum theories realistic asymptotic cosmology is obtained provided the effective potential has a…
ecent observations of type Ia supernovae indicate that the Universe is in an accelerating phase of expansion. The fundamental quest in theoretical cosmology is to identify the origin of this phenomenon. In principle there are two…
In this paper, motivated from the fact that a de Sitter cosmological boundary corresponds to a positive cosmological constant, we consider time variable cosmological constants, dubbed {\it horizon cosmological constants}. The horizon…
In the framework of extended gravity theories, we discuss the meaning of a time dependent "cosmological constant" and give a set of conditions to recover asymptotic de Sitter behaviour for a class of cosmological models independently of…
Cosmological scenarios wherein the cumulative number of spontaneously formed, cognitively impaired, disembodied transient observers is vastly larger than the corresponding number of atypical `ordinary observers' (OOs) formed in the…
Here we consider a scenario in which dark energy is associated with the apparent area of a surface in the early universe. In order to resemble the cosmological constant at late times, this hypothetical reference scale should maintain an…
On the occasion of a century from the proposal of General relativity by Einstein, I attempt to tackle some open issues in modern cosmology, via a toy but non-trivial model. Specifically, I would like to link together: (i) the smallness of…