Dynamic properties of cyclic cosmologies

Abstract

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 call for a proper understanding of the universal properties of cyclic models. We thus first review and further elaborate the common physical and geometrical properties of various classes of cyclic models and then discuss how the cyclic Universe can be treated as a dynamic system. We then discuss how two theorems from dynamic systems analysis can be used to ensure the existence of cyclic cosmological solutions under certain conditions on the field equations. After this we proceed toward our second goal which is the application of the obtained results to different frameworks of modified gravity theories: $f(R)$ gravity, dynamic dark energy, and $f(T)$ gravity. We discuss the general requirements for the existence of cyclic solutions in these theories and also obtain various examples of cyclic cosmologies, while discussing their basic properties.