Singularities In Cosmological Models Research Articles

Regular Bouncing Solutions, Energy Conditions, and the Brans—Dicke Theory

In general, to avoid a singularity in cosmological models involves the introduction of exotic kind of matter fields, for example, a scalar field with negative energy density. In order to have a bouncing solution in classical General Relativity, violation of the energy conditions is required. In this work, we discuss a case of the bouncing solution in the Brans-Dicke theory with radiative fluid that obeys the energy conditions, and with no ghosts.

Initial singularity and pure geometric field theories

In the present article we use a modified version of the geodesic equation, together with a modified version of the Raychaudhuri equation, to study initial singularities. These modified equations are used to account for the effect of the spin-torsion interaction on the existence of initial singularities in cosmological models. Such models are the results of solutions of the field equations of a class of field theories termed pure geometric. The geometric structure used in this study is an absolute parallelism structure satisfying the cosmological principle. It is shown that the existence of initial singularities is subject to some mathematical (geometric) conditions. The scheme suggested for this study can be easily generalized.

Nonsingular bouncing cosmology: Consistency of the effective description

We explicitly confirm that spatially flat non-singular bouncing cosmologies make sense as effective theories. The presence of a non-singular bounce in a spatially flat universe implies a temporary violation of the null energy condition, which can be achieved through a phase of ghost condensation. We calculate the scale of strong coupling and demonstrate that the ghost-condensate bounce remains trustworthy throughout, and that all perturbation modes within the regime of validity of the effective description remain under control. For this purpose we require the perturbed action up to third order in perturbations, which we calculate in both flat and co-moving gauge -- since these two gauges allow us to highlight different physical aspects. Our conclusion is that there exist healthy descriptions of non-singular bouncing cosmologies providing a viable resolution of the big-bang singularities in cosmological models. Our results also suggest a variant of ekpyrotic cosmology, in which entropy perturbations are generated during the contracting phase, but are only converted into curvature perturbations after the bounce.

An extension theorem for conformal gauge singularities

We analyze conformal gauge, or isotropic, singularities in cosmological models in general relativity. Using the calculus of tractors, we find conditions in terms of tractor curvature for a local extension of the conformal structure through a cosmological singularity and prove a local extension theorem along a congruence of timelike conformal geodesics.

Past attractor in inhomogeneous cosmology

We present a general framework for analyzing spatially inhomogeneous cosmological dynamics. It employs Hubble-normalized scale-invariant variables which are defined within the orthonormal frame formalism, and leads to the formulation of Einstein's field equations with a perfect fluid matter source as an autonomous system of evolution equations and constraints. This framework incorporates spatially homogeneous dynamics in a natural way as a special case, thereby placing earlier work on spatially homogeneous cosmology in a broader context, and allows us to draw on experience gained in that field using dynamical systems methods. One of our goals is to provide a precise formulation of the approach to the spacelike initial singularity in cosmological models, described heuristically by Belinski\v{\i}, Khalatnikov and Lifshitz. Specifically, we construct an invariant set which we conjecture forms the local past attractor for the evolution equations. We anticipate that this new formulation will provide the basis for proving rigorous theorems concerning the asymptotic behavior of spatially inhomogeneous cosmological models.

Isotropic singularities in cosmological models

Motivated by the ideas of quiescent cosmology and Penrose's Weyl tensor hypothesis concerning the 'big bang', the authors give a geometric (and hence coordinate-independent) definition of the concept of 'isotropic singularity' in a spacetime. The definition generalises previous work on 'quasi-isotropic' and 'Friedman-like' singularities. They discuss simple consequences of the definition. In particular it is shown that an isotropic singularity is a scalar polynomial curvature singularity at which the Weyl tensor is dominated by the Ricci tensor. Finally they impose the Einstein field equations with irrotational perfect fluid source. This enables them to give a detailed description of the geometric structure of an isotropic singularity.

Friedmann-like cosmological models without singularity

The Einstein-Cartan theory of gravitation (“general relativity with spin”) provides a specific spin-spin contact interaction of matter, in addition to the usual long-range gravity. This new interaction enables us to prevent singularities in Cosmological models. It is shown how this mechanism works in the case when the standard Einstein-Cartan equations are valid at a microphysical level, and some spin-spin terms remain from the averaging procedure for randomly distributed spins. In contrast with the case of aligned spin distributions, it is possible to take over the isotropic and spatially homogeneous (i.e., Friedmannian) models into the Einstein-Cartan theory. These models can be made free from singularity, thanks to the self-interaction of spinning fluid.