Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 iii Paper 59 2 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For a homogeneous canonical massless scalar field, the flat Friedmann equation and field equation in conformal time arePut . On the negative-time branch, , and . ThereforeBoth equations are satisfied. Since , this is cosmological contraction with a free homogeneous scalar. Its energy density and pressure are equal, so it is a stiff fluid, and the scale factor tends to zero as .