Quiescent cosmological singularities

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent research on non-oscillatory cosmological singularities in four-dimensional space-times with scalar fields or stiff fluids, within the framework of the BKL conjecture.

Contribution

It summarizes recent developments on the nature of quiescent singularities and their relation to the BKL proposal in specific matter models.

Findings

Identification of conditions leading to non-oscillatory singularities

Support for the BKL conjecture in scalar field and stiff fluid models

Clarification of the behavior of space-times near quiescent singularities

Abstract

I discuss recent work (gr-qc/0001047) on non-oscillatory singularities in four dimensional space-times with scalar field or stiff fluid matter, in the context of the BKL proposal.