Cosmology using numerical relativity
Living Reviews in Relativity Springer 28:1 (2025) 5
Abstract:
This review is an up-to-date account of the use of numerical relativity to study dynamical, strong-gravity environments in a cosmological context. First, we provide a gentle introduction into the use of numerical relativity in solving cosmological spacetimes, aimed at both cosmologists and numerical relativists. Second, we survey the present body of work, focusing on general relativistic simulations, organised according to the cosmological history—from cosmogenesis, through the early hot Big Bang, to the late-time evolution of the universe. We discuss the present state-of-the-art, and suggest directions in which future work can be fruitfully pursued.Inflaton Dynamics in Higher-Derivative Scalar-Tensor Theories of Gravity
ArXiv 2505.17986 (2025)
Symmetry restoration and vacuum decay from accretion around black holes
Physical Review D American Physical Society (APS) 111:4 (2025) ARTN L041501
Abstract:
Vacuum decay and symmetry breaking play an important role in the fundamental structure of the matter and the evolution of the Universe. In this work we study how the purely classical effect of accretion of fundamental fields onto black holes can lead to shells of symmetry restoration in the midst of a symmetry broken phase. We also show how it can catalyze vacuum decay, forming a bubble that expands asymptotically at the speed of light. These effects offer an alternative, purely classical mechanism to quantum tunneling for seeding phase transitions in the Universe.GRTresna: An open-source code to solve the initial data constraints in numerical relativity
ArXiv 2501.13046 (2025)
Robustness of inflation to kinetic inhomogeneities
Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics IOP Publishing 2025:01 (2025) 050