Towards a smooth unification from an ekpyrotic bounce to the dark energy era

In the context of a ghost free f(R, G) model, we present a non-singular cosmological scenario in which the universe initially contracts through an ekpyrotic phase having a bouncing like behaviour, and following the bounce, it smoothly transits to a matter or radiation like deceleration era which is further smoothly connected to the dark energy era at present epoch. The ghost free character of the model is ensured by the presence of a Lagrange multiplier, and we consider the Gauss-Bonnet (GB) coupling function in such a way that it gets compatible with the event GW170817. Using suitable reconstruction technique, we obtain the non-trivial scalar field potential as well as the GB coupling function. Such scalar potential and GB coupling function source a smooth unified scenario from an ekpyrotic bounce to the dark energy era with an intermediate deceleration era. The occurrence of ekpyrotic contraction phase justifies the resolution of the anisotropic problem (also known as BKL instability) in the background evolution. Consequently we determine the background Hubble parameter and the corresponding effective equation of state parameter, and discussed several qualitative features of the model. The Hubble radius shows an asymmetric behaviour around the bounce, in particular, the evolution of the Hubble radius leads to the generation era of the primordial perturbation modes far before the bounce in the deep sub-Hubble regime. Accordingly we perform the scalar and tensor perturbation evolution in the present context, and as a result, the scalar power spectrum at large scale modes is found to be problematic. Thus an extended scenario is proposed where we consider a pre-ekpyrotic phase having the equation of state parameter is less than unity, and re-examine the scalar and tensor power spectra, on large scales that cross the Hubble radius during the pre-ekpyrotic stage. In this regard, the GB coupling function shows considerable effects in reducing the tensor to scalar ratio compared to the case where the GB coupling is absent. Furthermore the dark energy epoch is consistent with the Planck+SNe+BAO data. (C) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In a ghost free f(R,G) model, a non-singular cosmological scenario is presented where the universe transitions smoothly from an ekpyrotic bounce to the dark energy era. The presence of a Lagrange multiplier ensures the ghost free nature of the model, and reconstruction techniques are used to determine the scalar field potential and the GB coupling function. The model successfully resolves the anisotropic problem in the background evolution and the Hubble radius exhibits asymmetric behavior around the bounce, leading to the generation of primordial perturbation modes.