The generalized Szekeres family of solution for quasi-spherical space-time of higher dimensions are obtained in the scalar tensor theory of gravitation. Brans-Dicke field equations expressed in Dicke’s revised units are exhaustively solved for all the subfamilies of the said family. A particular group of solutions may also be interpreted as due to the presence of the so-called C-field of Hoyle ...

We present an explicit exact solution of Einstein’s equations for an inhomogeneous dust universe with cylindrical symmetry. The spacetime is extremely simple but nonetheless it has new surprising features. The universe is “closed” in the sense that the dust expands from a big-bang singularity but recollapses to a big-crunch singularity. In fact, both singularities are connected so that the whol...

The standard big bang cosmological model and the history of the early universe according to the grand unified theories of strong, weak and electromagnetic interactions are summarized. The shortcomings of big bang are discussed together with their resolution by inflationary cosmology. Inflation and the subsequent oscillation and decay of the inflaton field are studied. The density perturbations ...

In this thesis we study the dynamics of higher-dimensional gravity in a universe emerging from a brane collision. We develop a set of powerful analytic methods which, we believe, render braneworld cosmological perturbation theory solvable. Our particular concern is to determine the extent to which the four-dimensional effective theory accurately captures the higher-dimensional dynamics about th...

A large class of $\Lambda < 0$ cosmologies have big-bang / big crunch spacetimes with time-symmetric backgrounds and asymptotically AdS Euclidean continuations suggesting a possible holographic realization. We argue that these models generically time-dependent scalar fields, can lead to realistic at the level homogeneous background geometry, an accelerating phase prior turnaround crunch. first ...