Bouncing Braneworlds Go Crunch!

TL;DR

This paper examines bouncing braneworld cosmologies in the Randall-Sundrum model, revealing that most solutions encounter singularities during the transition from contraction to expansion, challenging their smooth bounce interpretation.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis showing that the supposed smooth bounce in these cosmologies generally involves a singularity, refining the understanding of such models.

Findings

Most solutions encounter singularities during the bounce

The smooth transition is not generic in these models

Singularities challenge the viability of bouncing braneworlds

Abstract

Recently, interesting braneworld cosmologies in the Randall-Sundrum scenario have been constructed using a bulk spacetime which corresponds to a charged AdS black hole. In particular, these solutions appear to `bounce', making a smooth transition from a contracting to an expanding phase. By considering the spacetime geometry more carefully, we demonstrate that generically in these solutions the brane will encounter a singularity in the transition region.