Could a thin-shell configuration lie hidden within the Universe?

TL;DR

The paper investigates whether the Universe could conceal a hidden topological defect by applying a radial defect metric deformation to the flat FRW spacetime, yielding an evolving wormhole that connects two asymptotically FRW regions through a throat at $\xi=0$. The throat is supported by a thin shell of exotic matter with equation of state $\mathsf{P} = -\sigma/2$, whose surface density scales as $\sigma \propto 1/a(t)$, while the bulk expansion obeys the standard Friedmann equations. The construction shows that such a wormhole is not a distributed inhomogeneous matter configuration but a degenerate geometry with exotic matter confined to the shell, leaving the cosmological dynamics unchanged. The work suggests possible early-Universe formation mechanisms and potential observational signatures (e.g., lensing or gravitational waves) are challenging to detect, and discusses extensions to networks of thin-shell wormholes and implications for pre-inflationary physics.

Abstract

This article explores the cosmological scenario in which our Universe contains a hidden thin-shell configuration. We investigate a degenerate modification of the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker metric obtained through a coordinate transformation applied to the radial coordinate, analogous to recent approaches that address the Big Bang singularity via spacetime defects. The resulting metric, while formally satisfying the standard homogeneous Friedmann equations, actually describes an evolving wormhole geometry with two asymptotically flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker regions connected by a throat located at the coordinate singularity. Using Israel's junction formalism, we demonstrate that this coordinate singularity corresponds to a thin shell characterized by exotic matter with well-defined surface energy density and isotropic pressure. The shell obeys the barotropic equation of state $p = -ρ/2$, confirming the presence of exotic matter that violates the standard energy condition, which is a requirement for maintaining wormhole geometries. As the universe expands, this thin shell becomes increasingly diluted, scaling as $1/a(t)$ with the cosmic scale factor.