Inextendibility of expanding cosmological models with symmetry

Abstract

A new criterion for inextendibility of expanding cosmological models with symmetry is presented. It is applied to derive a number of new results and to simplify the proofs of existing ones. In particular, it shows that the solutions of the Einstein–Vlasov system with T2 symmetry, including the vacuum solutions, are inextendible in the future. The technique introduced adds a qualitatively new element to the available tool-kit for studying strong cosmic censorship