From big bang to big crunch and beyond

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Published 25 July 2002 Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd
, , Citation Shmuel Elitzur et al JHEP06(2002)017 DOI 10.1088/1126-6708/2002/06/017

1126-6708/2002/06/017

Abstract

We study a quotient Conformal Field Theory, which describes a 3+1 dimensional cosmological spacetime. Part of this spacetime is the Nappi-Witten (NW) universe, which starts at a ``big bang'' singularity, expands and then contracts to a ``big crunch'' singularity at a finite time. The gauged WZW model contains a number of copies of the NW spacetime, with each copy connected to the preceeding one and to the next one at the respective big bang/big crunch singularities. The sequence of NW spacetimes is further connected at the singularities to a series of non-compact static regions with closed timelike curves. These regions contain boundaries, on which the observables of the theory live. This suggests a holographic interpretation of the physics.

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10.1088/1126-6708/2002/06/017