The Challenging Cosmic Singularity

Abstract

In this talk we discuss the cosmic singularity. We motivate the need to correct general relativity in the study of singularities, and mention the kind of corrections provided by string theory. We review how string theory resolves time-like singularities with two examples. Then, a simple toy model with lightlike singularities is presented, and studied in classical string theory. It turns out that classical string theory cannot resolve these singularities, and therefore better understanding of the full quantum theory is needed. The implications of this result for the Ekpyrotic/Cyclic Model are discussed. We end by mentioning the known suggestions for explaining the cosmological singularity.

11 pages

References in corpus (9)

• The Ekpyrotic Universe: Colliding Branes and the Origin of the Hot Big Bang
• The Pre-Big Bang Scenario in String Cosmology
• Massless Black Holes and Conifolds in String Theory
• Strings in a Time-Dependent Orbifold
• Strings in Time-Dependent Orbifolds
• Instability of Spacelike and Null Orbifold Singularities
• The geometry of null rotation identifications
• On the instability of 3d null singularities
• On Smooth Time-Dependent Orbifolds and Null Singularities

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• Thermal/quantum effects and induced superstring cosmologies
• Induced superstring cosmologies and moduli stabilization
• Global Fluctuation Spectra in Big Crunch/Big Bang String Vacua
• Towards a Stringy Resolution of the Cosmological Singularity
• Low Tension Strings on a Cosmological Singularity
• Matrix Quantum Mechanics on $S^1/{\mathbb{Z}}_2$
• Winding Strings in Singular Spacetimes
• Kinematics of Horizon and Singularity and IR/UV Mixing in AdS