No Arabic abstract
The cosmological scale factor $a(t)$ of the flat-space Robertson-Walker geometry is examined from a Hamiltonian perspective wherein $a(t)$ is interpreted as an independent dynamical coordinate and the curvature density $sqrt {- g(a)} R({a,dot a,ddot a})$ is regarded as an action density in Minkowski spacetime. The resulting Hamiltonian for $a(t)$ is just the first Friedmann equation of the traditional approach (i.e. the Robertson-Walker cosmology of General Relativity), as might be expected. The utility of this approach however stems from the fact that each of the terms matter, radiation, and vacuum, and including the kinetic / gravitational field term, are formally energy densities, and the equation as a whole becomes a formal statement of energy conservation. An advantage of this approach is that it facilitates an intuitive understanding of energy balance and exchange on the cosmological scale that is otherwise absent in the traditional presentation. Each coordinate system has its own internally consistent explanation for how energy balance is achieved. For example, in the spacetime with line element $ds^2 = dt^2 - a^2(t) d{bf{x}}^2$, cosmological red-shift emerges as due to a post-recombination interaction between the scalar field $a(t)$ and the EM fields in which the latter loose energy as if propagating through a homogeneous lossy medium, with the energy lost to the scale factor helping drive the cosmological expansion.
We show that Gutzwillers characterization of chaotic Hamiltonian systems in terms of the curvature associated with a Riemannian metric tensor in the structure of the Hamiltonian can be extended to a wide class of potential models of standard form through definition of a conformal metric. The geodesic equations reproduce the Hamilton equations of the original potential model when a transition is made to the dual manifold, and the geodesics in the dual space coincide with the orbits of the Hamiltonian potential model. We therefore find a direct geometrical description of the time development of a Hamiltonian potential model. The second covariant derivative of the geodesic deviation in this dual manifold generates a dynamical curvature, resulting in (energy dependent) criteria for unstable behavior different from the usual Lyapunov criteria. We discuss some examples of unstable Hamiltonian systems in two dimensions giving, in particular, detailed results for a potential obtained from a fifth order expansion of a Toda lattice Hamiltonian.
We investigate whether successful Gravitational Leptogenesis can take place during an Ekpyrotic contraction phase. Two possible paths by which this can occur are coupling the Ekpyrotic scalar to a gravitational Chern-Simons term, or to a $ U(1) $ gauge field Chern-Simons term. These couplings lead to the production of chiral gravitational waves, which generate a lepton number asymmetry through the gravitational-lepton number anomaly. This lepton asymmetry is subsequently reprocessed by equilibrium sphaleron processes to produce a baryon asymmetry. We find successful Gravitational Leptogenesis to be possible in Ekpyrotic bounce cosmologies through both of these mechanisms.
We discuss the possibility to implement a viscous cosmological model, attributing to the dark matter component a behaviour described by bulk viscosity. Since bulk viscosity implies negative pressure, this rises the possibility to unify the dark sector. At the same time, the presence of dissipative effects may alleviate the so called small scale problems in the $Lambda$CDM model. While the unified viscous description for the dark sector does not lead to consistent results, the non-linear behaviour indeed improves the situation with respect to the standard cosmological model.
I show that observations of quantum nonlocality can be interpreted as purely local phenomena, provided one assumes that the cosmos is a multiverse. Conversely, the observation of quantum nonlocality can be interpreted as observation evidence for a multiverse cosmology, just as observation of the setting of the Sun can be interpreted as evidence for the Earths rotation.
Every society has a story rooted in its most ancient traditions, of how the earth and sky originated. Most of these stories attribute the origin of all things to a Creator - whether God, Element or Idea. We first recall that in the Western world all discussions of the origin of the world were dominated until the 18th century by the story of Genesis, which describes the Creation as an ordered process that took seven days. Then we show how the development of mechanistic theories in the 18th century meant that the idea of an organized Creation gave way to the concept of evolution, helped by the fact that in the 19th century astrophysicists discovered that stars had their origin in clouds of gas. We conclude with Big bang theory, conceived at the beginning of the 20th century, that was subsequently developed into a more or less complete account of the history of the cosmos, from the supposed birth of space, time and matter out of the quantum vacuum until the emergence of life (at least on our planet Earth, and much probably elsewhere) and beyond.