Nonsingular bouncing cosmology in general relativity: physical analysis of the spacetime defect

Abstract

In this paper, we describe physical effects occurring in the regularized Robertson-Walker spacetime which can reveal the presence of the defect. Our analysis is based on two main physical quantities: the compressive forces acting on (human) observers and the energy possessed by massive particles and photons during their dynamical evolution. In Sec. 3, we claim that with a characteristic length scale of the order of the Planck length compressive forces become so intense near the defect that no (human) observer is able to cross it. In Sec. 4, we show that the energy exhibits an unusual character over a small time interval around the bounce contrasting with the behaviour in the standard cosmology picture. We conclude the paper with some considerations and open problems related to our results.

v4: 34 pages, 12 figures; Sec. 2 has been expanded and new references have been added. Accepted for publication in Classical and Quantum Gravity