On the Creation of the Universe via Ekpyrotic Instantons

Understand

We present a new class of complex instantons in the context of ekpyrotic cosmological theories.

• These instantons, which satisfy the "no-boundary" boundary conditions, describe the emergence of a classical, contracting universe out of nothing.
• The ekpyrotic attractor is essential in guaranteeing an evolution towards a real, Lorentzian history of the universe.
• In the context of the no-boundary proposal, the relative probability for such ekpyrotic histories compared to inflationary ones is very high -- in fact, assuming a bounce can be incorporated, these new instantons currently describe the most likely origin of the universe.