The dynamics of brane-world cosmological models

Brane-world cosmology is motivated by recent developments in string/M-theory and offers a new perspective on the hierarchy problem. In the brane-world scenario, our Universe is a four-dimensional subspace or brane embedded in a higher-dimensional bulk spacetime. Ordinary matter fields are confined to the brane while the gravitational field can also propagate in the bulk, and it is not necessary for the extra dimensions to be small, or even compact, leading to modifications of Einstein's theory of general relativity at high energies. In particular, the Randall-Sundrum-type models are relatively simple phenomenological models that capture some of the essential features of the dimensional reduction of eleven-dimensional supergravity introduced by Hoava and Witten. These curved (or warped) models are self-consistent and simple and allow for an investigation of the essential nonlinear gravitational dynamics. The governing field equations induced on the brane differ from the general relativistic equations in that there are nonlocal effects from the free gravitational field in the bulk, transmitted via the projection of the bulk Weyl tensor, and the local quadratic energy-momentum corrections, which are significant in the high-energy regime close to the initial singularity. In this review, we investigate the dynamics of the five-dimensional warped Randall-Sundrum brane worlds and their generalizations, with particular emphasis on whether the currently observed high degree of homogeneity and isotropy can be explained. In particular, we discuss the asymptotic dynamical evolution of spatially homogeneous brane-world cosmological models containing both a perfect fluid and a scalar field close to the initial singularity. Using dynamical systems techniques, it is found that, for models with a physically relevant equation of state, an isotropic singularity is a past-attractor in all orthogonal spatially homogeneous models (including Bianchi type IX models). In addition, we describe the dynamics in a class of inhomogeneous brane-world models, and show that these models also have an isotropic initial singularity. These results provide support for the conjecture that typically the initial cosmological singularity is isotropic in brane-world cosmology. Consequently, we argue that, unlike the situation in general relativity, brane-world cosmological models may offer a plausible solution to the initial conditions problem in cosmology.