M-theory and the birth of the universe

In this review article, we first discuss a possible regularization of the Big Bang curvature singularity of the standard Friedmann cosmology, where the curvature singularity is replaced by a spacetime defect. We then consider the hypothesis that a new physics phase gave rise to this particular space- time defect. Specifically, we set out on an explorative calculation using the IIB matrix model, which has been proposed as a particular formulation of nonperturbative superstring theory (M-theory).