There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

We review in detail a number of approaches that have been adopted to try and explain the remarkable observation of our accelerating universe. In particular we discuss the arguments for and recent progress made towards understanding the nature of dark energy. We review the observational evidence for the current accelerated expansion of the universe and present a number of dark energy models in addition to the conventional cosmological constant, paying particular attention to scalar field models such as quintessence, K-essence, tachyon, phantom and dilatonic models. The importance of cosmological scaling solutions is emphasized when studying the dynamical system of scalar fields including coupled dark energy. We study the evolution of cosmological perturbations allowing us to confront them with the observation of the Cosmic Microwave Background and Large Scale Structure and demonstrate how it is possible in principle to reconstruct the equation of state of dark energy by also using Supernovae Ia observational data. We also discuss in detail the nature of tracking solutions in cosmology, particle physics and braneworld models of dark energy, the nature of possible future singularities, the effect of higher order curvature terms to avoid a Big Rip singularity, and approaches to modifying gravity which leads to a late-time accelerated expansion without recourse to a new form of dark energy.

Dynamics of dark energy

Modified gravity theories have received increased attention lately due to combined motivation coming from high-energy physics, cosmology, and astrophysics. Among numerous alternatives to Einstein's theory of gravity, theories that include higher-order curvature invariants, and specifically the particular class of $f(R)$ theories, have a long history. In the last five years there has been a new stimulus for their study, leading to a number of interesting results. Here $f(R)$ theories of gravity are reviewed in an attempt to comprehensively present their most important aspects and cover the largest possible portion of the relevant literature. All known formalisms are presented---metric, Palatini, and metric affine---and the following topics are discussed: motivation; actions, field equations, and theoretical aspects; equivalence with other theories; cosmological aspects and constraints; viability criteria; and astrophysical applications.

f ( R ) theories of gravity

Unified cosmic history in modified gravity: from F(R) theory to Lorentz non-invariant models

Over the past decade, f(R) theories have been extensively studied as one of the simplest modifications to General Relativity. In this article we review various applications of f(R) theories to cosmology and gravity - such as inflation, dark energy, local gravity constraints, cosmological perturbations, and spherically symmetric solutions in weak and strong gravitational backgrounds. We present a number of ways to distinguish those theories from General Relativity observationally and experimentally. We also discuss the extension to other modified gravity theories such as Brans-Dicke theory and Gauss-Bonnet gravity, and address models that can satisfy both cosmological and local gravity constraints.

f(R) theories

A unified treatment of all known types of singularities for flat, isotropic and homogeneous spacetimes in the framework of loop quantum cosmology (LQC) is presented. These include bangs, crunches and all future singularities. Using effective spacetime description we perform a model-independent general analysis of the properties of curvature, behavior of geodesics and strength of singularities. For illustration purposes a phenomenological model based analysis is also performed. We show that all values of the scale factor at which a strong singularity may occur are excluded from the effective loop quantum spacetime. Further, if the evolution leads to either a vanishing or divergent scale factor then the loop quantum universe is asymptotically deSitter in that regime. We also show that there exists a class of sudden extremal events, which includes a recently discussed possibility, for which the curvature or its derivatives will always diverge. Such events however turn out to be harmless weak curvature singularities beyond which geodesics can be extended. Our results point toward a generic resolution of physical singularities in LQC.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0264-9381/26/12/125005/pdf

Are loop quantum cosmos never singular

The loop quantization of the Schwarzschild interior region, as described by a homogeneous anisotropic Kantowski–Sachs model, is re-examined. As several studies of different—inequivalent—loop quantizations have shown, to date there exists no fully satisfactory quantum theory for this model. This fact poses challenges to the validity of some scenarios to address the black hole information problem. Here we put forward a novel viewpoint to construct the quantum theory that builds from some of the models available in the literature. The final picture is a quantum theory that is both independent of any auxiliary structure and possesses a correct low curvature limit. It represents a subtle but non-trivial modification of the original prescription given by Ashtekar and Bojowald. It is shown that the quantum gravitational constraint is well defined past the singularity and that its effective dynamics possesses a bounce into an expanding regime. The classical singularity is avoided, and a semiclassical spacetime satisfying vacuum Einstein's equations is recovered on the 'other side' of the bounce. We argue that such a metric represents the interior region of a white-hole spacetime, but for which the corresponding 'white hole mass' differs from the original black hole mass. Furthermore, we find that the value of the white hole mass is proportional to the third power of the starting black hole mass.

/pdf/loop-quantization-of-the-schwarzschild-interior-revisited-4wvrvk5jw0.pdf

Loop quantization of the Schwarzschild interior revisited

We consider the fate of future singularities in the effective dynamics of loop quantum cosmology. Nonperturbative quantum geometric effects which lead to ${\ensuremath{\rho}}^{2}$ modification of the Friedmann equation at high energies result in generic resolution of singularities whenever energy density $\ensuremath{\rho}$ diverges at future singularities of Friedmann dynamics. Such quantum effects lead to the avoidance of a big rip, which is followed by a recollapsing universe stable against perturbations. Resolution of sudden singularity, the case when pressure diverges but energy density approaches a finite value depends on the ratio of the latter to a critical energy density of the order of the Planck value. If the value of this ratio is greater than unity, the universe escapes the sudden future singularity and becomes oscillatory.

Avoidance of future singularities in loop quantum cosmology

A unified treatment of all known types of singularities for flat, isotropic and homogeneous spacetimes in the framework of loop quantum cosmology (LQC) is presented. These include bangs, crunches and all future singularities. Using effective spacetime description we perform a model independent general analysis of the properties of curvature, behavior of geodesics and strength of singularities. For illustration purposes a phenomenological model based analysis is also performed. We show that all values of the scale factor at which a strong singularity may occur are excluded from the effective loop quantum spacetime. Further, if the evolution leads to either a vanishing or divergent scale factor then the loop quantum universe is asymptotically deSitter in that regime. We also show that there exist a class of sudden extremal events, which includes a recently discussed possibility, for which the curvature or its derivatives will always diverge. Such events however turn out to be harmless weak curvature singularities beyond which geodesics can be extended. Our results point towards a generic resolution of physical singularities in LQC.

We reexamine the process of loop quantization for flat isotropic models in cosmology. In particular, we contrast different inequivalent ``loop quantizations'' of these simple models through their respective successes and limitations and assess whether they can lead to any viable physical description. We propose three simple requirements which any such admissible quantum model should satisfy: (i) independence from any auxiliary structure, such as a fiducial interval/cell introduced to define the phase space when integrating over noncompact manifolds; (ii) existence of a well defined classical limit, and (iii) a sensible ``Planck scale'' where quantum gravitational effects become manifest. We show that even when it may seem that one can have several possible loop quantizations, these physical requirements considerably narrow down the consistent choices. Apart from the so-called improved dynamics of loop quantum cosmology, none of the other available inequivalent loop quantizations pass the above tests, showing the limitations of lattice refinement models to approximate the homogeneous sector and loop modified quantum geometrodynamics. We conclude that amongst a large class of loop quantizations in isotropic cosmology, there is a unique consistent choice.

Parampreet Singh

Papers

Are loop quantum cosmos never singular

Loop quantization of the Schwarzschild interior revisited

Avoidance of future singularities in loop quantum cosmology

Are loop quantum cosmos never singular

Is loop quantization in cosmology unique