Friedmann cosmology and almost isotropy (Q1762662)

This 60-pages long paper deals with several aspects of small deviations from isotropy. The motivation comes from cosmology, as the universe is very nearly isotropic, but it is not clear from the beginning, in which sense the deviation from strict isotropy can be mathematically defined. The paper -- thanks to its length -- gives all definitions in detail, and for the crucial spatial isotropy of cosmological models also several equivalent ones. Using the exponential radius, Gromov's compactness theorem, and limits of space-times, the author deduces several theorems related to the several versions of almost isotropy. Finally, a relation to the existence of conjugate points is discussed.