A dynamical systems approach to geodesics in Bianchi cosmologies (Q6208768)

In this article, the dynamical systems approach to the field equations for the spatially homogeneous Bianchi models is extended to the geodesic equations for these cosmologies. The field equations are written as an autonomous system of first order differential equations. By normalizing with the expansion scalar, dimensionless variables are obtained. From the found system one can obtain qualitative information on the evolution of the Bianchi cosmologies. The equilibrium points of the system correspond to selfsimilar models which are studied in more detail. The geodesic equations for the tangent vector of the cosmic fluid form a first order coupled system where the gravitational potentials enter. The tangent vector is normalized by the energy which leads to bounded variables for null and timelike geodesics. The study of null geodesics can lead to information on the observational properties as limits on the anisotropy of the cosmic expansion by the isotropy of the cosmic microwave background. Examples for simple fluids and selfsimilar models are discussed in detail.