In this contribution we summarize two recent applications of a correspondence between backreaction terms in averaged inhomogeneous cosmologies and an effective scalar field (the `morphon'). Backreaction terms that add to the standard sources of Friedmannian kinematical laws and that emerge from geometrical curvature invariants built from inhomogeneities, can be interpreted in terms of a minimally coupled scalar field in the case of a dust matter source. We consider closure conditions of the averaged equations that lead to different evolution scenarii: a) the standard Chaplygin equation of state imposed as an effective relation between kinematical fluctuations and intrinsic curvature of space sections, and b) an inflationary scenario that emerges out of inhomogeneities of the Einstein vacuum, where averaged curvature inhomogeneities model the potential of an effective classical inflaton.
The asymptotic behaviour at late times of inhomogeneous axion-dilaton cosmologies is investigated. The space-times considered here admit two abelian space-like Killing vectors. These space-times evolve towards an anisotropic universe containing gravitational radiation. Furthermore, a peeling-off behaviour of the Weyl tensor and the antisymmetric tensor field strength is found. The relation to the pre-big-bang scenario is briefly discussed.
Penrose limits of inhomogeneous cosmologies admitting two abelian Killing vectors and their abelian T-duals are found in general. The wave profiles of the resulting plane waves are given for particular solutions. Abelian and non-abelian T-duality are used as solution generating techniques. Furthermore, it is found that unlike in the case of abelian T-duality, non-abelian T-duality and taking the Penrose limit are not commutative procedures.
We study a class of inhomogeneous and anisotropic $G_2$ string cosmological models. In the case of separable $G_2$ models we show that the governing equations reduce to a system of ordinary differential equations. We focus on a class of separable $G_2$ M-theory cosmological models, and study their qualitative behaviour (a class of models with time-reversed dynamics is also possible). We find that generically these inhomogeneous M-theory cosmologies evolve from a spatially inhomogeneous and negatively curved model with a non-trivial form field towards spatially flat and spatially homogeneous di…
The asymptotic behaviour of a family of inhomogeneous scalar field cosmologies with exponential potential is studied. By introducing new variables we can perform an almost complete analysis of the evolution of these cosmologies. Unlike the homogeneous case (Bianchi type solutions), when k^2<2 the models do not isotropize due to the presence of the inhomogeneities
The applications of numerical relativity to cosmology are on the rise, contributing insight into such cosmological problems as structure formation, primordial phase transitions, gravitational-wave generation, and inflation. In this paper, I present the infrastructure for the computation of inhomogeneous dust cosmologies which was used recently to measure the effect of nonlinear inhomogeneity on the cosmic expansion rate. I illustrate the code's architecture, provide evidence for its correctness in a number of familiar cosmological settings, and evaluate its parallel performance for grids of up…
Some exact solutions for the Einstein field equations corresponding to inhomogeneous $G_2$ cosmologies with an exponential-potential scalar field which generalize solutions obtained previously are considered. Several particular cases are studied and the properties related to generalized inflation and asymptotic behaviour of the models are discussed.
The backreaction of inhomogeneities on the global expansion history of the Universe suggests a possible link of the formation of structures to the recent accelerated expansion. In this paper, the origin of this conjecture is illustrated and a model without Dark Energy that allows for a more explicit investigation of this link is discussed. Additionally to this conceptually interesting feature, the model leads to a LCDM-like distance-redshift relation that is consistent with SN data.
We present exact inhomogeneous and anisotropic cosmological solutions of low-energy string theory containing dilaton and axion fields. The spacetime metric possesses cylindrical symmetry. The solutions describe ever-expanding universes with an initial curvature singularity and contain known homogeneous solutions as subcases. The asymptotic form of the solution near the initial singularity has a spatially-varying Kasner-like form. The inhomogeneous axion and dilaton fields are found to evolve quasi-homogeneously on scales larger than the particle horizon. When the inhomogeneities enter the hori…
We present solution generating techniques which permit to construct exact inhomogeneous and anisotropic cosmological solutions to a four-dimensional low energy limit of string theory containing non-minimally interacting electromagnetic and dilaton fields. Some explicit homogeneous and inhomogeneous cosmological solutions are constructed. For example, inhomogeneous exact solutions presenting Gowdy - type EMD universe are obtained. The asymptotic behaviour of the solutions is investigated. The asymptotic form of the metric near the initial singularity has a spatially varying Kasner form. The cha…
This is a review of cosmological models prepared for the Pont d'Oye workshop on the origin of structure in the universe. The classes of models are discussed in turn, and then some of their uses are considered.
We present a general algorithm which permits to construct solutions in string cosmology for heterotic and type-IIB superstrings in four dimensions. Using a chain of transformations applied in sequence: conformal, T-duality and SL(2,R) rotations, along with the usual generating techniques associated to Geroch transformations in Einstein frame, we obtain solutions with all relevant low-energy remnants of the string theory. To exemplify our algorithm we present an inhomogeneous string cosmology with S^3 topology of spatial sections, discuss some properties of the solution and point out some subtl…
The asymptotic behaviour of a class of inhomogeneous scalar field cosmologies with a Liouville type of potential is studied. We define a set of new variables for which the phase space of the system of Einstein equations is bounded. This allows us to perform a complete analysis of the evolution of these cosmologies. We also discuss the extension of the cosmic no-hair theorem.
Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi inhomogeneous spacetimes can be used as a cosmological model to account for the type Ia supernova data. However, such models also give rise to large velocities of galaxy clusters with respect to the cosmic microwave background. Those velocities can be measured using the kinematic Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect. This paper presents a calculation of galaxy cluster velocities as a function of redshift for such a model.
The averaging problem for inhomogeneous cosmologies is discussed in the form of a disputation between two cosmologists, one of them (RED) advocating the standard model, the other (GREEN) advancing some arguments against it. Technical explanations of these arguments as well as the conclusions of this debate are given by BLUE.
We present the study of exact inhomogeneous cosmological solutions to a four-dimensional low energy limit of string theory containing non-minimal interacting electromagnetic, dilaton and axion fields. We analyze Einstein-Rosen solutions of Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton-axion equations and show, by explicitly taken the asymptotic limits, that they have asymptotically velocity-term dominated (AVTD) singularities.
This review was given at the 65th birthday meeting of D.W. Sciama, The Renaissance of General Relativity and Cosmology, to be published by Cambridge University Press. It presents progress in the understanding of non-standard relativistic cosmologies during Sciama's career, organized by the areas of application rather than the mathematical types of the models.
Heuristic arguments and numerical simulations support the Belinskii et al (BKL) claim that the approach to the singularity in generic gravitational collapse is characterized by local Mixmaster dynamics (LMD). Here, one way to identify LMD in collapsing spatially inhomogeneous cosmologies is explored. By writing the metric of one spacetime in the standard variables of another, signatures for LMD may be found. Such signatures for the dynamics of spatially homogeneous Mixmaster models in the variables of U(1)-symmetric cosmologies are reviewed. Similar constructions for U(1)-symmetric spacetimes …
We lay out a general framework for calculating the variation of a set of cosmological observables, down the past null cone of an arbitrarily placed observer, in a given arbitrary inhomogeneous metric. The observables include redshift, proper motions, area distance and redshift-space density. Of particular interest are observables that are zero in the spherically symmetric case, such as proper motions. The algorithm is based on the null geodesic equation and the geodesic deviation equation, and it is tailored to creating a practical numerical implementation. The algorithm provides a method for …
The basic concepts and equations of classical fluid mechanics are presented in the form necessary for the formulation of Newtonian cosmology and for derivation and analysis of a system of the averaged Navier-Stokes-Poisson equations. A special attention is paid to the analytic formulation of the definitions and equations of moving fluids and to their physical content.
We calculate analytically the past asymptotic decay rates close to an initial singularity in general G_0 spatially inhomogeneous perfect fluid models with an effective equation of state which is stiff or ultra-stiff (i.e., $γ\ge 2$). These results are then supported by numerical simulations in a special class of G_2 cosmological models. Our analysis confirms and extends the BKL conjectures and lends support to recent isotropization results in cosmological models of current interest (with $γ> 2$).
For general relativistic spacetimes filled with an irrotational perfect fluid a generalized form of Friedmann's equations governing the expansion factor of spatially averaged portions of inhomogeneous cosmologies is derived. The averaging problem for scalar quantities is condensed into the problem of finding an `effective equation of state' including kinematical as well as dynamical `backreaction' terms that measure the departure from a standard FLRW cosmology. Applications of the averaged models are outlined including radiation-dominated and scalar field cosmologies (inflationary and dilaton/…
For general relativistic spacetimes filled with irrotational `dust' a generalized form of Friedmann's equations for an `effective' expansion factor $a_D (t)$ of inhomogeneous cosmologies is derived. Contrary to the standard Friedmann equations, which hold for homogeneous-isotropic cosmologies, the new equations include the `backreaction effect' of inhomogeneities on the average expansion of the model. A universal relation between `backreaction' and average scalar curvature is also given. For cosmologies whose averaged spatial scalar curvature is proportional to $a_D^{-2}$, the expansion law go…
In this thesis we investigate cosmological models more general than the isotropic and homogeneous Friedmann-Lemaitre models. We focus on cosmologies with one spatial degree of freedom, whose matter content consists of a perfect fluid and the cosmological constant. We formulate the Einstein field equations as a system of quasilinear first order partial differential equations, using scale-invariant variables. The primary goal is to study the dynamics in the two asymptotic regimes, i.e. near the initial singularity and at late times. We highlight the role of spatially homogeneous dynamics as the …
Regionally averaged relativistic cosmologies have recently been considered as a possible explanation for the apparent late time acceleration of the Universe. This contribution reports on a mean field description of the backreaction in terms of a minimally coupled regionally homogeneous scalar field evolving in a potential, then giving a physical origin to the various phenomenological scalar fields generically called quintessence fields. As an example, the correspondence is then applied to scaling solutions.
We discuss inhomogeneous cosmological models which satisfy the Copernican principle. We construct some inhomogeneous cosmological models starting from the ansatz that the all the observers in the models view an isotropic cosmic microwave background. We discuss multi-fluid models, and illustrate how more general inhomogeneous models may be derived, both in General Relativity and in scalar-tensor theories of gravity. Thus we illustrate that the cosmological principle, the assumption that the Universe we live in is spatially homogeneous, does not necessarily follow from the Copernican principle a…
Starting from the inhomogeneous shear--free Nariai metric we show, by solving the Einstein--Klein--Gordon field equations, how a self--interacting scalar field plus a material fluid, a variable cosmological term and a heat flux can drive the universe to its currently observed state of homogeneous accelerated expansion. A quintessence scenario where power-law inflation takes place for a string-motivated potential in the late--time dominated field regime is proposed.
Two-point correlation functions are ubiquitous tools of modern cosmology, appearing in disparate topics ranging from cosmological inflation to late-time astrophysics. When the background spacetime is maximally symmetric, invariance arguments can be used to fix the functional dependence of this function as the invariant distance between any two points. In this paper we introduce a novel formalism which fixes this functional dependence directly from the isometries of the background metric, thus allowing one to quickly assess the overall features of Gaussian correlators without resorting to the f…
For space-times with two spacelike isometries, we present infinite hierarchies of exact solutions of the Einstein and Einstein--Maxwell equations as represented by their Ernst potentials. This hierarchy contains three arbitrary rational functions of an auxiliary complex parameter. They are constructed using the so called `monodromy transform' approach and our new method for the solution of the linear singular integral equation form of the reduced Einstein equations. The solutions presented, which describe inhomogeneous cosmological models or gravitational and electromagnetic waves and their in…
The present talk summarizes the recently progressed state of a systematic re-evaluation of cosmological models that respect the presence of inhomogeneities. Emphasis is given to identifying the basic steps towards an effective (i.e. spatially averaged) description of structural evolution, also unfolding the various facets of a `smoothed--out' cosmology. We shall highlight some results obtained within Newtonian cosmology, discuss expansion laws in general relativity within a covariant fluid approach, and put forward some promising directions of future research.
Lemaître-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) solutions have traditionally been confined to systems with no pressure in which the gravity is due to massive dust, but the solutions are little changed in form if, as in cosmology, the pressure is uniform in space at each comoving time. This allows the equations of cosmology to be deduced in a manner that more closely resembles classical mechanics. It also gives some inhomogeneous solutions with growing condensations and black holes. We give criteria by which the sizes of different closed models of the universe can be compared and discuss conditions for self-closur…
Einstein's equations for a 4+n-dimensional inhomogeneous space-time are presented, and a special family of solutions is exhibited for an arbitrary n. The solutions depend on two arbitrary functions of time. The time development of a particular member of this family is studied. This solution exhibits a singularity at t=0 and dynamical compactification of the n dimensions. It is shown that the behaviour of the system in the 4-dimensional i.e. post-compactification phase is constrained by the way in which the compactified dimensions are stabilized. The fluid that generates the solution is analyze…
A combination of analytic and numerical methods has yielded a clear understanding of the approach to the singularity in spatially inhomogeneous cosmologies. Strong support is found for the longstanding claim by Belinskii, Khalatnikov, and Lifshitz that the collapse is dominated by local Kasner or Mixmaster behavior. The Method of Consistent Potentials is used to establish the consistency of asymptotic velocity term dominance (AVTD) (local Kasner behavior) in that no terms in Einstein's equations will grow exponentially when the VTD solution, obtained by neglecting all terms containing spatial …
The basic concepts and equations of Newtonian Cosmology are presented in the form necessary for the derivation and analysis of the averaged Navier-Stokes-Poisson equations. A particular attention is paid to the physical and cosmological hypotheses about the structure of Newtonian universes. The system of the Navier-Stokes-Poisson equations governing the cosmological dynamics of Newtonian universes is presented and discussed. A reformulation of the Navier-Stokes-Poisson equations in terms of the fluid kinematic quantities is given and the structure of this system of equations is analyzed.
In the first part of the present paper, we show that O(d,d)-invariance usually known in a homogeneous cosmological background written in terms of proper time can be extended to backgrounds depending on one or several coordinates (which may be any space-like or time-like coordinate(s)). In all cases, the presence of a perfect fluid is taken into account and the equivalent duality transformation in Einstein frame is explicitly given. In the second part, we present several concrete applications to some four-dimensional metrics, including inhomogeneous ones, which illustrate the different duality …
The in-in effective action formalism is used to derive the semiclassical correction to Einstein's equations due to a massless scalar quantum field conformally coupled to small gravitational perturbations in spatially flat cosmological models. The vacuum expectation value of the stress tensor of the quantum field is directly derived from the renormalized in-in effective action. The usual in-out effective action is also discussed and it is used to compute the probability of particle creation. As one application, the stress tensor of a scalar field around a static cosmic string is derived and the…
We investigate effective equations governing the volume expansion of spatially averaged portions of inhomogeneous cosmologies in spacetimes filled with an arbitrary fluid. This work is a follow-up to previous studies focused on irrotational dust models (Paper I) and irrotational perfect fluids (Paper II) in flow-orthogonal foliations of spacetime. It complements them by considering arbitrary foliations, arbitrary lapse and shift, and by allowing for a tilted fluid flow with vorticity. As for the first studies, the propagation of the spatial averaging domain is chosen to follow the congruence o…
A new formulation for light propagation in geometric optics by means of the Bi-local Geodesic Operators is considered. We develop the BiGONLight Mathematica package, uniquely designed to apply this framework to compute optical observables in Numerical Relativity. Our package can be used for light propagation on a wide range of scales and redshifts and accepts numerical as well as analytical input for the spacetime metric. In this paper we focus on two cosmological observables, the redshift and the angular diameter distance, specializing our analysis to a wall universe modeled within the post-N…
Previous studies \cite{berger98a} have provided strong support for a local, oscillatory approach to the singularity in U(1) symmetric, spatially inhomogeneous vacuum cosmologies on $T^3 \times R$. The description of a vacuum Bianchi type IX, spatially homogeneous Mixmaster cosmology (on $S^3 \times R$) in terms of the variables used to describe the U(1) symmetric cosmologies indicates that the oscillations in the latter are in fact those of local Mixmaster dynamics. One of the variables of the U(1) symmetric models increases only at the end of a Mixmaster era. Such an increase therefore yields…
The standard model of cosmology is based on homogeneous-isotropic solutions of Einstein's equations. These solutions are known to be gravitationally unstable to local inhomogeneous perturbations, commonly described as evolving on a background given by the same solutions. In this picture, the FLRW backgrounds are taken to describe the average over inhomogeneous perturbations for all times. We study in the present article the (in)stability of FLRW dust backgrounds within a class of averaged inhomogeneous cosmologies. We examine the phase portraits of the latter, discuss their fixed points and or…
I present here a new algorithm to generate families of inhomogeneous massless scalar field cosmologies. New spacetimes, having a single isometry, are generated by breaking the homogeneity of massless scalar field $G_2$ models along one direction. As an illustration of the technique I construct cosmological models which in their late time limit represent perturbations in the form of gravitational and scalar waves propagating on a non-static inhomogeneous background. Several features of the obtained metrics are discussed, such as their early and late time limits, structure of singularities and p…
A cosmology is considered driven by a stress-energy tensor consisting of a perfect fluid, an inhomogeneous pressure term (which we call a ``tachyonic dust'' for reasons which will become apparent) and a cosmological constant. The inflationary, radiation dominated and matter dominated eras are investigated in detail. In all three eras, the tachyonic pressure decreases with increasing radius of the universe and is thus minimal in the matter dominated era. The gravitational effects of the dust, however, may still strongly affect the universe at present time. In case the tachyonic pressure is posi…
In this work numerical methods for solving Einstein's equations are developed and applied to the study of inhomogeneous cosmological models. A two-dimensional computer code is described which implements two advanced numerical methods: LeVeque's multi-dimensional high-resolution integration scheme which allows accurate evolution of solutions containing discontinuities or steep gradients, and an adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) algorithm which enables the local resolution of a simulation to vary dynamically in response to the behaviour of the evolved solution. A family of hyperbolic formulations o…
This thesis concerns the compatibility of inhomogeneous cosmologies with our present understanding of the universe. It is a problem of some interest to find the class of all relativistic cosmological models which are capable of providing a reasonable `fit' to the universe. This thesis, in some respects, is part of this process. We consider Stephani models, which are a generalisation of the standard Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) models, which can be thought of as FLRW models with acceleration and pressure gradients. Thus these models generalise the `dust' assumption of standard cos…
Inhomogeneous Cosmologies with Bumpy Structure from Superfluid Pionic Vortices and the propagation of electromagnetic field
Centro de Estudios Científicos (CECs)（科学研究中心）；Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad San Sebastián（塞巴斯蒂安大学工程学院）；Instituto de Ciencias Fisicas y Matemáticas, Universidad Austral de Chile（智利南方大学物理与数学科学学院）；Departamento de Ciencias Físicas, Universidad de La Frontera（弗雷兰特大学物理系）；Institute of Systems Science, Durban University of Technology（德班理工大学系统科学研究所）；Centro de Investigación, Innovación y Creación (CIIC), Universidad Católica de Temuco（特木科天主教大学创新与研究中心）；Departamento de Ciencias Matemáticas y Físicas, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Católica de Temuco（特木科天主教大学工程学院数学与物理系）；National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences (NITheCS)（理论与计算科学国家研究所）
Semiclassical Einstein-Langevin equations for arbitrary small metric perturbations conformally coupled to a massless quantum scalar field in a spatially flat cosmological background are derived. Use is made of the fact that for this problem the in-in or closed time path effective action is simply related to the Feynman and Vernon influence functional which describes the effect of the ``environment'', the quantum field which is coarse grained here, on the ``system'', the gravitational field which is the field of interest. This leads to identify the dissipation and noise kernels in the in-in eff…
The basic concepts and hypotheses of Newtonian Cosmology necessary for a consistent treatment of the averaged cosmological dynamics are formulated and discussed in details. The space-time, space, time and ensemble averages for the cosmological fluid fields are defined and analyzed with a special attention paid to their analytic properties. It is shown that all averaging procedures require an arrangement for a standard measurement device with the same measurement time interval and the same space region determined by the measurement device resolution to be prescribed to each position and each mo…
We present the detailed derivation of the recently announced most general cosmological solution with homogeneous and isotropic metric in the ghost-free massive gravity theory. We use the standard parametrization of the theory in terms of the matrix square root, and then show how the same results are recovered within the tetrad formulation. The solution obtained includes the matter source, it exists for generic values of the theory parameters, and it describes a universe that can be spatially open, closed, or flat, and that shows the late time acceleration due to the effective cosmological term…
Two families of exact simple solutions of Einstein field equations for inhomogeneous stiff cosmologies are presented. The method to obtain the solutions is based on the introduction of auxiliary functions in order to cast the Einstein equations in such a way that can be explicitly integrated. Now, despite of the equations are mathematically equivalent to the equations obtained when the source of matter is a scalar field, is worth to mention that the source that we consider is not a scalar field but a perfect fluid with the stiff equation of state. The obtained solutions are expressed in terms …
We present an explicit three-parameter class of $p=γ\varrho$, ($-1/3\leqγ<1$), cosmological models admitting a two-dimensional group $G_{2}$ of isometries acting on spacelike surfaces. The family is self-similar in the sense that it has a further homothetic vector field and it contains subfamilies of both (previously unknown) tilted and non-tilted Bianchi models with that equation of state. This is the first algebraically general class of solutions of this kind including dust inhomogeneous solutions. The whole class presents a universal spacelike big-bang singularity in the finite past. More i…
By applying a standard solution generating technique, we transform an arbitrary vacuum Mixmaster solution on $S^3 \times {\bf R}$ to a new solution which is spatially inhomogeneous. We thereby obtain a family of exact, spatially inhomogeneous, vacuum spacetimes which exhibit Belinskii, Khalatnikov, and Lifshitz (BKL) oscillatory behavior. The solutions are constructed explicitly by performing the transformations on numerically generated, homogeneous Mixmaster solutions. Their behavior is found to be qualitatively like that seen in previous numerical simulations of generic U(1) symmetric cosmol…
We develop approximation methods in the hybrid quantization of the Gowdy model with linear polarization and a massless scalar field, for the case of three-torus spatial topology. The loop quantization of the homogeneous gravitational sector of the Gowdy model (according to the improved dynamics prescription) and the presence of inhomogeneities lead to a very complicated Hamiltonian constraint. Therefore, the extraction of physical results calls for the introduction of well justified approximations. We first show how to approximate the homogeneous part of the Hamiltonian constraint, correspondi…
In homogeneous and isotropic Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmology, the topology of the universe determines its ultimate fate. If the Weak Energy Condition is satisfied, open and flat universes must expand forever, while closed cosmologies can recollapse to a Big Crunch. A similar statement holds for homogeneous but anisotropic (Bianchi) universes. Here, we prove that $arbitrarily$ inhomogeneous and anisotropic cosmologies with "flat" (including toroidal) and "open" (including compact hyperbolic) spatial topology that are initially expanding must continue to expand forever at least in some regi…
Soliton solutions are recovered as scale-invariant asymptotic states of vacuum inhomogeneous cosmologies using renormalization group method. The stability analysis of these states is also given.
Recently a new no-global-recollapse argument was given for some inhomogeneous and anisotropic cosmologies that utilizes surface deformation by the mean curvature flow. In this paper we discuss important properties of the mean curvature flow of spacelike surfaces in Lorentzian manifolds. We show that singularities may form during cosmic evolution and the theorems forbidding the global recollapse lose their validity. The time evolution of the spatial scalar curvature that may kinematically prevent the recollapse is determined in normal coordinates, which shows the impact of inhomogeneities expli…
We present a new generating algorithm to construct exact non static solutions of the Einstein field equations with two-dimensional inhomogeneity. Infinite dimensional families of $G_1$ inhomogeneous solutions with a self interacting scalar field, or alternatively with perfect fluid, can be constructed using this algorithm. Some families of solutions and the applications of the algorithm are discussed.
Idealizing matter as a pressureless fluid and representing its motion by a peculiar--velocity field superimposed on a homogeneous and isotropic Hubble expansion, we apply (Lagrangian) spatial averaging on an arbitrary domain $\cal D$ to the (nonlinear) equations of Newtonian cosmology and derive an exact, general equation for the evolution of the (domain dependent) scale factor $a_{\cal D}(t)$. We consider the effect of inhomogeneities on the average expansion and discuss under which circumstances the standard description of the average motion in terms of Friedmann's equation holds. We find th…
Families of anisotropic and inhomogeneous string cosmologies containing non-trivial dilaton and axion fields are derived by applying the global symmetries of the string effective action to a generalized Einstein-Rosen metric. The models exhibit a two-dimensional group of Abelian isometries. In particular, two classes of exact solutions are found that represent inhomogeneous generalizations of the Bianchi type VI_h cosmology. The asymptotic behaviour of the solutions is investigated and further applications are briefly discussed.
We investigate the stability against inhomogeneous perturbations and the appearance of ghost modes in Gauss-Bonnet gravitational theories with a non-minimally coupled scalar field, which can be regarded as either the dilaton or a compactification modulus in the context of string theory. Through cosmological linear perturbations we extract four no-ghost and two sub-luminal constraint equations, written in terms of background quantities, which must be satisfied for consistency. We also argue that, for a general action with quadratic Riemann invariants, homogeneous and inhomogeneous perturbations…
Spatially averaged inhomogeneous cosmologies in classical general relativity can be written in the form of effective Friedmann equations with sources that include backreaction terms. In this paper we propose to describe these backreaction terms with the help of a homogeneous scalar field evolving in a potential; we call it the `morphon field'. This new field links classical inhomogeneous cosmologies to scalar field cosmologies, allowing to reinterpret, e.g., quintessence scenarios by routing the physical origin of the scalar field source to inhomogeneities in the Universe. We investigate a one…
The cosmic no hair conjecture is tested for a large class of inhomogeneous cosmologies with a positive cosmological constant. Firstly, we derive a new class of exact inhomogeneous cosmological solutions whose matter content of the models is formed by a mixture of two interacting simple fluids plus a cosmological Lambda-term. These models generalize the de Sitter spacetime and the inhomogeneous two-fluid Szekeres-type cosmologies derived by Lima and Tiomno. Finally, we show that the late time behaviour of our solutions is in agreement with the "cosmic no hair theorem" of Hawking and Moss.
