https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-015-3269-0
Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
Ambient cosmology and spacetime singularities
1
Albert Einstein Center for Fundamental Physics, Institute for Theoretical Physics, Bern University, Sidlerstrasse 5, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
2
Ecole Polytechnique, 91128, Palaiseau, France
3
Department of Physics, CERN, Theory Division, 1211, Geneva 23, Switzerland
4
School of Applied Mathematics and Physical Sciences, National Technical University, 15780, Athens, Greece
* e-mail: skot@aegean.gr
Received:
17
September
2014
Accepted:
11
January
2015
Published online:
28
January
2015
We present a new approach to the issues of spacetime singularities and cosmic censorship in general relativity. This is based on the idea that standard 4-dimensional spacetime is the conformal infinity of an ambient metric for the 5-dimensional Einstein equations with fluid sources. We then find that the existence of spacetime singularities in four dimensions is constrained by asymptotic properties of the ambient 5-metric, while the non-degeneracy of the latter crucially depends on cosmic censorship holding on the boundary.
© SIF and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2015
