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PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETYVOL. 148, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2004
The Endless Universe:A Brief Introduction
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PAUL J. STEINHARDT
Professor of Physics, Princeton University
The “cyclic model of the universe” is a radical alternative to standardbig bang/inflationary theory in which space and time exist indefinitely,the rapidly accelerating inflationary phase is avoided, and the uni-verse undergoes periodic epochs of expansion and contraction.
HROUGHOUT HUMAN HISTORY, there have beenthree cosmic paradigms commonly invoked to explain thenature of the universe. Each has been embodied in a moderncosmological model based on Einstein’s general theory of relativity.One is the notion of an Unchanging Universe, which underlies Ein-stein’s static universe model (the first cosmological model proposedafter the introduction of General Relativity) and the Steady State Modelof Hoyle, Gold, and Bondi. This paradigm has been set aside becauseof Hubble’s discovery that the universe is expanding and the discoveryby Penzias and Wilson of the cosmic microwave background, directevidence of an earlier hotter and denser epoch.The paradigm of a Created Universe, in which space and timespring from nothingness and steadily evolve, underlies today’s standardmodel of cosmology, the big bang/inflationary picture (1–3). Althoughthe creation process and the first instants are not well understood, thesequence of events following is well defined and the predictions of themodel appear to be in exquisite agreement with current observations.Finally, we come to the Cyclic Universe, the notion that the uni-verse undergoes periodic epochs of evolution followed by a sequence of events that brings the universe back, phoenix-like, to its initial state.The cyclic concept is at least as old as recorded history. For example,
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the endless universe
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cyclic evolution is an essential part of ancient Hindu cosmology. In the1920s and 1930s, a version was explored in the context of modern cos-mology by Tolman (4) and others. That version entailed an overdenseclosed universe in which our three-dimensional world expands andcontracts at regular intervals. The idea was set aside because, as Tol-man first pointed out, the entropy produced during each cycle wouldbe concentrated during the contracting phase, adding to the entropyproduced in earlier phases. The entropy density at the end of each con-traction causes the next expansion cycle to be longer than the onebefore. The cycles cannot be identical, as originally imagined. Instead,extrapolating backward from the present entropy, the universe wouldhave undergone smaller and smaller cycles in the past converging rap-idly toward zero duration. The total age of the universe would not besignificantly different from a universe with no cycles. Since the mainpurpose of considering a cyclic universe is to push back the “begin-ning” indefinitely, the entropy problem was viewed as a serious imped-iment and discouraged further work. Today, we would also discard thisidea because it requires an overdense universe, whereas observationsinform us that the mass density is only about one-fourth of the criticalvalue required to cycle.In the last year, however, there has been a return of the Cyclic Uni-verse in a new twenty-first-century version based on recent ideas devel-oped in fundamental (superstring) physics (5, 6). The new cyclic universeappears capable of reproducing all of the successful predictions of thestandard big bang/inflationary model with the same exquisite preci-sion, even though the key events that shape the large-scale structure of the universe occur at different epochs and temperatures and entail dif-ferent physical processes.A motivation for considering an alternative is that today’s standardmodel has become more complicated. The initial big bang modelassumed a universe that emerges full of radiation and density, and uni-formly cools and condenses into structure over time. However, afterthe big bang, the universe should have been turbulent, chaotic, and dis-ordered, whereas the observed universe seems remarkably homoge-neous and uniform on large scales. A period of inflationary expansionhas been added, which stretches the universe at exponentially fast rates,smoothing out the initial inhomogeneities, warps, or curvature. It alsoleaves behind tiny wrinkles in the distribution of matter and energythat later produce the observed fluctuations in the cosmic microwavebackground temperature and seed the formation of galaxies. The infla-tion requires adding a hypothetical field, the inflaton, with specialproperties that enable it to induce a finite amount of exponentialexpansion and then decay into particles that form our present universe.
 
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paul j. steinhardt
But, adding the inflaton is not enough. We have recently discoveredthat we must add yet another component, known as “dark energy.”Dark energy is different from “dark matter,” which is gravitationallyself-attractive and joins together with ordinary matter to form galax-ies. Dark energy is gravitationally self-repulsive and causes the expan-sion of the universe to accelerate. Recent measurements of the cosmicmicrowave background (7) and of distant supernovae (8, 9, 10) indi-cate that more than 70 percent of the universe consists of dark energytoday. Its existence was not anticipated, nor is it explained by the bigbang or inflation. Rather, it is simply an ingredient that must be addedad hoc in a precise amount to match observations. We do not knowwhether dark energy is stable or unstable, so we cannot determinewhether the universe will accelerate forever or not. All told, then, thestandard model has required an increasing number of assumptions inthe last two decades, not only about there being a beginning of spaceand time, but also about the addition of inflaton fields and dark energywith specially tuned properties. Seeing these complications inspires thetheorist to look for a new approach.The new cyclic universe model, a model proposed with Neil Turok(Cambridge), turns the conventional picture topsy-turvy (5, 6). Spaceand time exist forever. The big bang is not the beginning of time.Rather, it is a bridge to a pre-existing contracting era. The universeundergoes an endless sequence of cycles in which it contracts in a bigcrunch and re-emerges in an expanding big bang, with trillions of yearsof evolution in between. The temperature and density of the universedo not become infinite at any point in the cycle. Indeed, they neverexceed a finite bound (about a trillion trillion degrees). No high-energyinflation has taken place since the big bang. The current homogeneityand flatness were created by events that occurred before the mostrecent big bang. The seeds for galaxy formation were created by insta-bilities arising as the universe was collapsing toward a big crunch,prior to our big bang.The new cyclic model is also radically different from the cyclicmodel discussed by Tolman and others in the 1920s and 1930s andfrom cyclic models of ages past. The cycles are not completely indepen-dent. As described above, the key events that set the large-scale struc-ture of our present universe occurred a cycle ago, and events that areoccurring now are setting the stage for the cycle to come. The universeis infinite and flat, rather than finite and closed. Because of the flatness,the total energy density in the new cyclic universe is equal to the criti-cal value, in accordance with observations. Negative potential energyrather than an overdensity of matter is what causes the reversal fromexpansion to contraction. Right after the bang, the universe undergoes
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