This thesis explores the expansive world of General Relativity, and its role to play in modern cosmology and quantum field theory. We begin with a pedagogical approach to relativity, in particular, highlighting upon the ambiguity that arises with the conventions used in different textbooks. A brief introduction to tensor calculus has also been provided in the appendix. The preliminary chapters are also complimented with examples of numerical relativity via simulation. We then move on to discuss examples of non-linear systems, and their exact solutions. Such systems will be analogous to those we shall encounter later, upon considering scalar field theories as a means of modelling dark energy. We shall introduce the axion as our highly motivated dark matter candidate, since this will ultimately determine the behaviour of the scalar field. Coupled to a scaling factor across the spatial domain, it is found that this scalar field will ultimately determine the evolution of our universe. The key result of this thesis has been the possibility to screen both the cosmological constant, and flatness of the universe, to within observable parameters. These results will be explicitly derived from first principles. Also included is a tentative approach to holographic theory, in which strongly correlated systems may be modelled within the asymptotic domain of Anti-de Sitter (AdS) space. Ultimately, our aspirations are to bridge the gap with condensed matter theory, in particular with the publications included within the latter appendices. These publications discuss graphene as a revolutionary new material, for inclusion in both transistor-based and optoelectronic devices.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:647332 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Pierpoint, Michael P. |
| Publisher | Loughborough University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/17191 |
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