AbstractWe examine the time evolution of the $$D=d+4$$D=d+4 dimensional Einstein field equations subjected to a flat Robertson-Walker metric where the 3D and higher-dimensional scale factors are allowed to evolve at different rates. We find the exact solution to these equations for a single fluid component, which yields two limiting regimes offering the 3D scale factor as a function of the time. The fluid regime solution closely mimics that described by 4D FRW cosmology, offering a late-time behavior for the 3D scale factor after becoming valid in the early universe, and can give rise to a late-time accelerated expansion driven by vacuum energy. This is shown to be preceded by an earlier volume regime solution, which offers a very early-time epoch of accelerated expansion for a radiation-dominated universe for $$d=1$$d=1. The time scales describing these phenomena, including the transition from volume to fluid regime, are shown to fall within a small fraction of the first second when the fundamental constants of the theory are aligned with the Planck time. This model potentially offers a higher-dimensional alternative to scalar-field inflationary theory and a consistent cosmological theory, yielding a unified description of early- and late-time accelerated expansions via a 5D spacetime scenario.
Late-time tails of wave propagation in higher dimensional spacetimes