We give a brief overview of the role of quantum theory in cosmology, reviewing the standard model of classical cosmology, inflation and quantum cosmology.

It is postulated that the action of the FRW-universe is the cos-mological term of Einstein's theory (no curvature term-" R 0 Cos-mology "). The expansion equation emerging from the embedding of this most simple brane world with variable speed of light is deduced. The universal dimensionless coupling constant of gravity is addressed. Some implications on the deep problems of cosmology are discus...

If the dark energy equation of state is anisotropic, the expansion rate of the universe becomes directiondependent at late times. We show that such models are not only cosmologically viable but that they could explain some of the observed anomalies in the CMB. The possible anisotropy can then be constrained by studying its effects on the luminosity distance-redshift relation inferred from sever...

We present a brief review of recent advances in string cosmology. Starting with the Dilaton-Moduli Cosmology (known also as the Pre Big Bang), we go on to include the effects of axion fields and address the thorny issue of the Graceful Exit in String Cosmology. This is followed by a review of density perturbations arising in string cosmology and we finish with a brief introduction to the impact...

This paper outlines an alternative cosmology called the quasi-steady-state cosmology (QSSC) which was proposed in 1993 as a rival to the standard big bang cosmology (SBBC). The motivation for an alternative cosmology is introduced by first discussing some of the weak points of the SBBC. The theoretical framework and observational tests of the QSSC are next described. Finally some tests which ca...