The structure of cosmic time

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Following the approach of Julien Lesgourgues [astro-ph/0409426], we analyze the mathematical structure of the time co-ordinate of present day cosmological models, where these models include a cosmological constant term to account for the observed acceleration of the universe: we find that in all cases, except for a set of measure zero in the parameter space, the time is given by an (abelian) integral on a torus; the imaginary period of this integral then gives a natural periodicity in imaginary time for the universe; following Stephen Hawking, this periodicity may be interpreted either as giving a fundamental mass scale for the universe, or (using Planck's constant) a fundamental temperature, or both. The precise structure that emerges suggests that the structure of time can be regarded as an order parameter arising perhaps in a phase transition in the early universe; one might hope that this structure would be predictable in any fundamental theory.