THE OSCILLATING UNIVERSE - AN ALTERNATIVE TO INFLATION

The aim of this paper is to show that the 'oscillating universe' is a viable alternative to inflation. We recall that this model provides a natural solution to the flatness or entropy and to the horizon problem of standard cosmology. We study the evolution of density perturbation s and determine the power spectrum in a closed universe. The results l ead to constraints on how a previous cycle might have looked. We argue that most of the radiation entropy of the present universe may have o riginated from gravitational entropy produced in a previous cycle. We show that measurements of the power Spectrum on very large scales coul d, in principle, decide whether our universe is closed, hat or open.