A resolution of the cosmological singularity with orientifolds

By L. Cornalba, M. Costa, C. Kounnas. 2002

151 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract We propose a new cosmological scenario which resolves the conventional initial singularity problem. The space–time geometry has an unconventional time-like singularity on a lower-dimensional hypersurface, with localized energy density. The natural interpretation of this singularity in string theory is that of negative tension branes, for example the orientifolds of type II string theory. Space–time ends at the orientifolds, and it is divided in three regions: a contracting region with a future cosmological horizon; an intermediate region which ends at the orientifols; and an expanding region separated from the intermediate region by a past cosmological horizon. We study the geometry near the singularity of the proposed cosmological scenario in a specific string model. Using D-brane probes we confirm the interpretation of the brane singularity as an orientifold. The boundary conditions on the orientifolds and the past/future transition amplitudes are well defined. Assuming the trivial vacuum in the past, we derive a thermal spectrum in the future.

Subfields: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Nuclear and High Energy Physics

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/983a5ed38667dcb294d8ed10e1ea19604b144451

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Astronomy and Astrophysics

1. V. Hubeny
2. S. Shenker
3. D. Stanford
4. L. Cornalba
5. M. Costa
6. J. Maldacena
7. E. Kiritsis
8. M. Berkooz

In Nuclear and High Energy Physics

1. V. Hubeny
2. S. Shenker
3. D. Stanford
4. J. Maldacena
5. M. Costa
6. L. Cornalba
7. E. Kiritsis
8. Ben Craps

Citations in the corpus

• Comments on Cosmological Singularities in String Theory (2002, background): “In particular, the behavior near cosmological singularities has recently been studied by many researchers, including [1-26].”
• D‐branes in Standard Model building, gravity and cosmology (2003, background): “Macroscopic negative tension defects can provide interesting cosmological models [43]-[45].”
• Strings in Time-Dependent Orbifolds (2002, unknown): “[1-22] for recent discussions of this issue).”
• A New cosmological scenario in string theory (2002, methodology): “In particular, assuming the trivial vacuum in the past, we showed in [7] that the particle production rate in the far future is thermal.”
• Time‐dependent orbifolds and string cosmology (2003, unknown): “Let us now move to the analysis of the cosmological particle production, due to the time–dependence of the geometry [22].”
• The black hole singularity in AdS/CFT (2003, background): “The [M,N ] = [7, 12] Padé has a pole at x = 1.”