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W. C. Lim

Publications and source records attributed to W. C. Lim.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2009

Properties of kinematic singularities

The locally rotationally symmetric tilted perfect fluid Bianchi type V cosmological model provides examples of future geodesically complete spacetimes that admit a `kinematic singularity' at which the fluid congruence is inextendible but all frame components of the Weyl and Ricci tensors remain bounded. We show that for any positive integer n there are examples of Bianchi type V spacetimes admitting a kinematic singularity such that the covariant derivatives of the Weyl and Ricci tensors up to the n-th order also stay bounded. We briefly discuss singularities in classical spacetimes.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2008

Spherically symmetric cosmology: resource paper

We use the 1+3 frame formalism to write down the evolution equations for spherically symmetric models as a well-posed system of first order PDEs in two variables, suitable for numerical and qualitative analysis.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2007

Cosmic microwave background limits on spatially homogeneous cosmological models with dark energy

We investigate the effect of dark energy on the limits on the shear anisotropy in spatially homogeneous Bianchi cosmological models obtained from measurements of the temperature anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background. We shall primarily assume that the dark energy is modelled by a cosmological constant. In general, we find that there are tighter bounds on the shear than in models with no cosmological constant, although the limits are (Bianchi) model dependent. In addition, there are special spatially homogeneous cosmological models whose rate of expansion is highly anisotropic, but whose cosmic microwave background temperature is measured to be exactly isotropic at one instant of time.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2006

Kinematic and Weyl singularities

We study the properties of a future singularity encountered by a perfect fluid observer in tilting spatially homogeneous Bianchi cosmologies. We derive the boost formulae for the Weyl tensor to establish that, for two observers that are asymptotically null with respect to each other, their respective Weyl parameters generally both tend to zero, constant, or infinity together. We examine three classes of typical examples and one exceptional class. Given the behaviour of the Weyl parameter, we can predict that the singularity encountered is a Weyl singularity or a kinematic singularity. The analysis suggests that the kinematic variables are also useful in indicating a singularity in these models.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2006

Tilt and phantom cosmology

We show that in tilting perfect fluid cosmological models with an ultra-radiative equation of state, generically the tilt becomes extreme at late times and, as the tilt instability sets in, observers moving with the tilting fluid will experience singular behaviour in which infinite expansion is reached within a finite proper time, similar to that of phantom cosmology (but without the need for exotic forms of matter).

gr-qc↗
arXiv2006

Fluid observers and tilting cosmology

We study perfect fluid cosmological models with a constant equation of state parameter $γ$ in which there are two naturally defined time-like congruences, a geometrically defined geodesic congruence and a non-geodesic fluid congruence. We establish an appropriate set of boost formulae relating the physical variables, and consequently the observed quantities, in the two frames. We study expanding spatially homogeneous tilted perfect fluid models, with an emphasis on future evolution with extreme tilt. We show that for ultra-radiative equations of state (i.e., $γ>4/3$), generically the tilt becomes extreme at late times and the fluid observers will reach infinite expansion within a finite proper time and experience a singularity similar to that of the big rip. In addition, we show that for sub-radiative equations of state (i.e., $γ< 4/3$), the tilt can become extreme at late times and give rise to an effective quintessential equation of state. To establish the connection with phantom cosmology and quintessence, we calculate the effective equation of state in the models under consideration and we determine the future asymptotic behaviour of the tilting models in the fluid frame variables using the boost formulae. We also discuss spatially inhomogeneous models and tilting spatially homogeneous models with a cosmological constant.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2006

Tilted Bianchi VII_0 cosmologies -- the radiation bifurcation

We derive the late-time behaviour of tilted Bianchi VII_0 cosmologies with an irrotational radiation fluid as source, and give the asymptotic form of the general solution as $t \to +\infty$, making comparisons with the dust-filled models. At first sight the radiation-filled models appear to approximate the flat FL model at late times, since the Hubble-normalized shear and the tilt tend to zero and the density parameter tends to one. The Hubble-normalized Weyl curvature diverges, however, indicating that physically significant anisotropy remains. We also discuss the influence of a cosmological constant on this phenomenon.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2005

The Futures of Bianchi type VII0 cosmologies with vorticity

We use expansion-normalised variables to investigate the Bianchi type VII$_0$ model with a tilted $γ$-law perfect fluid. We emphasize the late-time asymptotic dynamical behaviour of the models and determine their asymptotic states. Unlike the other Bianchi models of solvable type, the type VII$_0$ state space is unbounded. Consequently we show that, for a general non-inflationary perfect fluid, one of the curvature variables diverges at late times, which implies that the type VII$_0$ model is not asymptotically self-similar to the future. Regarding the tilt velocity, we show that for fluids with $γ<4/3$ (which includes the important case of dust, $γ=1$) the tilt velocity tends to zero at late times, while for a radiation fluid, $γ=4/3$, the fluid is tilted and its vorticity is dynamically significant at late times. For fluids stiffer than radiation ($γ>4/3$), the future asymptotic state is an extremely tilted spacetime with vorticity.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2005

Asymptotic analysis of spatially inhomogeneous stiff and ultra-stiff cosmologies

We calculate analytically the past asymptotic decay rates close to an initial singularity in general G_0 spatially inhomogeneous perfect fluid models with an effective equation of state which is stiff or ultra-stiff (i.e., $γ\ge 2$). These results are then supported by numerical simulations in a special class of G_2 cosmological models. Our analysis confirms and extends the BKL conjectures and lends support to recent isotropization results in cosmological models of current interest (with $γ> 2$).

gr-qc↗
arXiv2004

Cosmological models from a dynamical systems perspective

It is useful to study the space of all cosmological models from a dynamical systems perspective, that is, by formulating the Einstein field equations as a dynamical system using appropriately normalized variables. We will discuss various aspects of this work, the choices of normalization factor, multiple representations of models, the past attractor, nonlinear dynamics in close-to-Friedmann-Lemaitre models, Weyl curvature dominance, and numerical simulations.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2003

Isotropic singularity in inhomogeneous brane cosmological models

We discuss the asymptotic dynamical evolution of spatially inhomogeneous brane-world cosmological models close to the initial singularity. By introducing suitable scale-invariant dependent variables and a suitable gauge, we write the evolution equations of the spatially inhomogeneous $G_{2}$ brane cosmological models with one spatial degree of freedom as a system of autonomous first-order partial differential equations. We study the system numerically, and we find that there always exists an initial singularity, which is characterized by the fact that spatial derivatives are dynamically negligible. More importantly, from the numerical analysis we conclude that there is an initial isotropic singularity in all of these spatially inhomogeneous brane cosmologies for a range of parameter values which include the physically important cases of radiation and a scalar field source. The numerical results are supported by a qualitative dynamical analysis and a calculation of the past asymptotic decay rates. Although the analysis is local in nature, the numerics indicates that the singularity is isotropic for all relevant initial conditions. Therefore this analysis, and a preliminary investigation of general inhomogeneous ($G_0$) models, indicates that it is plausible that the initial singularity is isotropic in spatially inhomogeneous brane-world cosmological models and consequently that brane cosmology naturally gives rise to a set of initial data that provide the conditions for inflation to subsequently take place.

gr-qc↗
arXiv1999

An almost isotropic cosmic microwave temperature does not imply an almost isotropic universe

In this letter we will show that, contrary to what is widely believed, an almost isotropic cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature does not imply that the universe is ``close to a Friedmann-Lemaitre universe''. There are two important manifestations of anisotropy in the geometry of the universe, (i) the anisotropy in the overall expansion, and (ii) the intrinsic anisotropy of the gravitational field, described by the Weyl curvature tensor, although the former usually receives more attention than the latter in the astrophysical literature. Here we consider a class of spatially homogeneous models for which the anisotropy of the CMB temperature is within the current observational limits but whose Weyl curvature is not negligible, i.e. these models are not close to isotropy even though the CMB temperature is almost isotropic.

astro-ph↗