Aspects of cosmology and quantum gravity in an accelerating universe

dc.contributor.advisorFischler, Willyen
dc.creatorKrishnan, Chethan, 1978-en
dc.date.accessioned2008-08-28T23:06:16Zen
dc.date.available2008-08-28T23:06:16Zen
dc.date.issued2006en
dc.descriptiontexten
dc.description.abstractThe observation that we are living in a Universe that is expanding at an ever-increasing rate is a major challenge for any fundamental theory. The most obvious explanation for an accelerating Universe is a positive cosmological constant, but we do not really know how to do quantum field theory or string theory in spacetimes that are not asymptotically flat. In this thesis, we address various issues that arise in this general context. The problems we address include the stability and evolution of de Sitter-like compactifications, the possibility of defining a quantum theory in de Sitter space using quantum groups, and finally, the classical evolution of thin shells (boundaries of new phase bubbles) in an inhomogeneous Universe with positive Λ.
dc.description.departmentPhysicsen
dc.format.mediumelectronicen
dc.identifierb65456579en
dc.identifier.oclc155855872en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2152/2744en
dc.language.isoengen
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works.en
dc.subject.lcshCosmologyen
dc.subject.lcshQuantum gravityen
dc.titleAspects of cosmology and quantum gravity in an accelerating universeen
dc.type.genreThesisen

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