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Main Authors: Cuevas, Ángel, Chagoya, Javier, Ortiz, C.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.23679
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author Cuevas, Ángel
Chagoya, Javier
Ortiz, C.
author_facet Cuevas, Ángel
Chagoya, Javier
Ortiz, C.
contents In the derivation of the Einstein field equations via Hamilton's principle, the inclusion of a boundary term is essential to render the variational problem well-posed, as it addresses variations that do not vanish at the boundary of the spacetime manifold. Typically, this term is chosen as the Gibbons-Hawking-York boundary term. In this work, we propose an alternative treatment of the boundary term within a cosmological framework by employing the Lagrange multiplier method. This approach enforces the vanishing of the boundary term throughout the evolution of the Universe, leading to the prediction of a fluid component that decays as the sixth power of the scale factor. This type of fluid has been studied in the context of the early universe under the name of stiff matter, and it can be related to a scalar field known as kination.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_23679
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Boundary terms in cosmology
Cuevas, Ángel
Chagoya, Javier
Ortiz, C.
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Theory
Mathematical Physics
In the derivation of the Einstein field equations via Hamilton's principle, the inclusion of a boundary term is essential to render the variational problem well-posed, as it addresses variations that do not vanish at the boundary of the spacetime manifold. Typically, this term is chosen as the Gibbons-Hawking-York boundary term. In this work, we propose an alternative treatment of the boundary term within a cosmological framework by employing the Lagrange multiplier method. This approach enforces the vanishing of the boundary term throughout the evolution of the Universe, leading to the prediction of a fluid component that decays as the sixth power of the scale factor. This type of fluid has been studied in the context of the early universe under the name of stiff matter, and it can be related to a scalar field known as kination.
title Boundary terms in cosmology
topic General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Theory
Mathematical Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.23679