Cosmic Perturbations Through the Cyclic Ages

We study the role of non-perturbative quantum gravity effects in the Ekpyrotic/Cyclic model using the effective framework of loop quantum cosmology in the presence of anisotropies. We show that quantum geometric modifications to the dynamical equations near the Planck scale as understood in the quantization of Bianchi-I spacetime in loop quantum cosmology lead to the resolution of classical singularity and result in a non-singular transition of the universe from the contracti...

In the present paper we study the evolution of the modes of a scalar field in a cyclic cosmology. In order to keep the discussion clear, we study the features of a scalar field in a toy model, a Friedman-Robertson-Walker universe with a periodic scale factor, in which the universe expands, contracts and bounces infinite times, in the approximation in which the dynamic features of this universe are driven by some external factor, without the backreaction of the scalar field un...

In this paper, we use a known duality between expanding and contracting cosmologies to construct a dual of the inflationary flow hierarchy applicable to contracting cosmologies such as Ekpyrotic and Cyclic models. We show that the inflationary flow equations are invariant under the duality and therefore apply equally well to inflation or to cyclic cosmology. We construct a self-consistent small-parameter approximation dual to the slow-roll approximation in inflation, and calc...

We analyze the general conditions on the equation of state $w$ required for quantum fluctuations of a scalar field to produce a scale-invariant spectrum of density perturbations, including models which (in the four dimensional effective description) bounce from a contracting to an expanding phase. We show that there are only two robust cases: $w\approx -1$ (inflation) and $w \gg 1$ (the ekpyrotic/cyclic scenario). All other cases, including the $w \approx 0$ case considered b...

In this paper, we present a new scenario of the early Universe that contains a pre big bang Ekpyrotic phase. By combining this with a ghost condensate, the theory explicitly violates the null energy condition without developing any ghost-like instabilities. Thus the contracting universe goes through a non-singular bounce and evolves smoothly into the expanding post big bang phase. The curvature perturbation acquires a scale-invariant spectrum well before the bounce in this sc...

Cyclic models of the universe have the advantage of avoiding initial conditions problems related to postulating any sort of beginning in time. To date, the only known viable examples of cyclic models have been ekpyrotic. In this paper, we show that the recently proposed anamorphic scenario can also be made cyclic. The key to the cyclic completion is a classically stable, non-singular bounce. Remarkably, even though the bounce construction was originally developed to connect a...

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 gravity. It is also taken into account that coefficients associated with these curvature corrections will in general be dependent on a curvature regime. We therewith assume no new ingredients, such as extra dimensions, new scalar fields, p...

It is shown how quantum fluctuations of the radiation during the contraction era of a CBE (Comes Back Empty) cyclic cosmology can provide density fluctuations which re-enter the horizon during the subsequent expansion era and at lowest order are scale invariant, in a Harrison-Zel'dovich-Peebles sense, as necessary to be consistent with observations of large scale structure.

In this concise, albeit subjective review of structure formation, I shall introduce the cosmological standard model and its theoretical and observational underpinnings. I will focus on recent results and current issues in theoretical cosmology, in particular in cosmological perturbation theory and its applications.

This is a short overview of the ekpyrotic/cyclic model of the universe, an alternative to the standard big bang inflationary paradigm.