Cyclic universes & direct detection of cosmic expansion by holonomy in the McVittie spacetime

dc.contributor.advisorDunsby, Peter Klaus
dc.contributor.authorCampbell, Mariam
dc.date.accessioned2020-02-13T10:13:14Z
dc.date.available2020-02-13T10:13:14Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.date.updated2020-02-13T10:06:27Z
dc.description.abstractThis dissertation consists of two parts. They are separate ideas, but both fall into the context of General Relativity using dynamical systems. Part one is titled Cyclic Universes. It is shown that a Friedmann model with positive spatial sections and a decaying dark energy term admits cyclic solutions which is shown graphically by the use of phase planes. Coupling the modified Friedmann model to a scalar field model with cross-sectional terms in order to model the reheating phase in the early universe, it is found that there is a violation of the energy condition, i.e. when the universe is in the contracting phase and re-collapses again. We suspect that the cause for this violation is due to the asymmetry of the solution of w together with the cross-sectional terms at the bounce preceding slow-roll inflation. Part two is titled Thought Experiment to Directly Detect Cosmic Expansion by Holonomy. Two thought experiments are proposed to directly measure the expansion of the universe by the parallel transfer of a vector around a closed loop in a curved spacetime. Generally, expansion would cause a measurable deficit angle between the vector’s initial and final positions. Using the McVittie spacetime (which describes a spherically symmetric object in an expanding universe) as a backdrop to perform these experiments it is shown that the expansion of the universe can be directly detected by measuring changes in the components of a gyroscopic spin axis. We find these changes to be small but large enough (∆S ∼ 10−7 ) to be measured if the McVittie spacetime were a representation of our universe.
dc.identifier.apacitationCampbell, M. (2019). <i>Cyclic universes &amp; direct detection of cosmic expansion by holonomy in the McVittie spacetime</i>. (). ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Maths and Applied Maths. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/31091en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationCampbell, Mariam. <i>"Cyclic universes &amp; direct detection of cosmic expansion by holonomy in the McVittie spacetime."</i> ., ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Maths and Applied Maths, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/31091en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationCampbell, M. 2019. Cyclic universes &amp; direct detection of cosmic expansion by holonomy in the McVittie spacetime.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Campbell, Mariam AB - This dissertation consists of two parts. They are separate ideas, but both fall into the context of General Relativity using dynamical systems. Part one is titled Cyclic Universes. It is shown that a Friedmann model with positive spatial sections and a decaying dark energy term admits cyclic solutions which is shown graphically by the use of phase planes. Coupling the modified Friedmann model to a scalar field model with cross-sectional terms in order to model the reheating phase in the early universe, it is found that there is a violation of the energy condition, i.e. when the universe is in the contracting phase and re-collapses again. We suspect that the cause for this violation is due to the asymmetry of the solution of w together with the cross-sectional terms at the bounce preceding slow-roll inflation. Part two is titled Thought Experiment to Directly Detect Cosmic Expansion by Holonomy. Two thought experiments are proposed to directly measure the expansion of the universe by the parallel transfer of a vector around a closed loop in a curved spacetime. Generally, expansion would cause a measurable deficit angle between the vector’s initial and final positions. Using the McVittie spacetime (which describes a spherically symmetric object in an expanding universe) as a backdrop to perform these experiments it is shown that the expansion of the universe can be directly detected by measuring changes in the components of a gyroscopic spin axis. We find these changes to be small but large enough (∆S ∼ 10−7 ) to be measured if the McVittie spacetime were a representation of our universe. DA - 2019 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - applied mathematics LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2019 T1 - Cyclic universes &amp; direct detection of cosmic expansion by holonomy in the McVittie spacetime TI - Cyclic universes &amp; direct detection of cosmic expansion by holonomy in the McVittie spacetime UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/31091 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/31091
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationCampbell M. Cyclic universes &amp; direct detection of cosmic expansion by holonomy in the McVittie spacetime. []. ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Maths and Applied Maths, 2019 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/31091en_ZA
dc.language.rfc3066eng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Maths and Applied Maths
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Science
dc.subjectapplied mathematics
dc.titleCyclic universes &amp; direct detection of cosmic expansion by holonomy in the McVittie spacetime
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMSc
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
thesis_sci_2019_campbell_mariam.pdf
Size:
1.36 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
0 B
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Collections