Cosmology as Geodesic Motion
| dc.creator | Townsend, Paul K. | |
| dc.creator | Wohlfarth, Mattias N. R. | |
| dc.date | 2004-04-29 | |
| dc.date | 2004-09-14 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-07-07T04:16:52Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-07-07T04:16:52Z | |
| dc.description | For gravity coupled to N scalar fields with arbitrary potential V, it is shown that all flat (homogeneous and isotropic) cosmologies correspond to geodesics in an (N+1)-dimensional `augmented' target space of Lorentzian signature (1,N), timelike if V>0, null if V=0 and spacelike if V<0. Accelerating cosmologies correspond to timelike geodesics that lie within an `acceleration subcone' of the `lightcone'. Non-flat (k=-1,+1) cosmologies are shown to evolve as projections of geodesic motion in a space of dimension (N+2), of signature (1,N+1) for k=-1 and signature (2,N) for k=+1. This formalism is illustrated by cosmological solutions of models with an exponential potential, which are comprehensively analysed; the late-time behviour for other potentials of current interest is deduced by comparison. | |
| dc.description | 26 pages, 2 figures, journal version with additional references | |
| dc.identifier | https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0404241 | |
| dc.identifier | http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0404241 | |
| dc.identifier | Class.Quant.Grav. 21 (2004) 5375 | |
| dc.identifier | doi:10.1088/0264-9381/21/23/006 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/52534 | |
| dc.subject | High Energy Physics - Theory | |
| dc.subject | General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology | |
| dc.title | Cosmology as Geodesic Motion | |
| dc.type | text |