Big Bounce or Double Bang? A Reply to Craig and Sinclair on the Interpretation of Bounce Cosmologies

TL;DR

This paper defends the orthodox bounce cosmology interpretation against the double bang critique, arguing that features of the universe explain each other and that the thermodynamic arrow of time can be continuous through the bounce.

Contribution

It provides a rebuttal to the double bang interpretation, clarifying the continuity of the thermodynamic arrow of time in bounce cosmologies.

Findings

Features of one universe explain features of the other.

The thermodynamic arrow of time can be continuous through the bounce.

Bounce cosmologies can have entropy reset without breaking time continuity.

Abstract

On the orthodox interpretation of bounce cosmologies, a preceding universe was compressed to a small size before ``bouncing'' to form the present expanding universe. William Lane Craig and James Sinclair have argued that the orthodox interpretation is incorrect if the entropy reaches a minimum at the bounce. In their view, the interface between universes represents the birth of two expanding universes, i.e., a ``double bang'' instead of a ``big bounce''. Here, I reply to Craig and Sinclair in defense of the orthodox interpretation. Contrary to their interpretation, features of one universe explain features of the other universe and so must precede the other universe in time. Moreover, contrary to a crucial part of Craig and Sinclair's interpretation, there are bounce cosmologies in which the thermodynamic arrow of time is continuous through the bounce even though the entropy is ``reset'' at the bounce.