Persistent Black Holes in Bouncing Cosmologies
  In this paper we explore the idea that black holes can persist in a universe
that collapses to a big crunch and then bounces into a new phase of expansion.
We use a scalar field to model the matter content of such a universe {near the
time} of the bounce, and look for solutions that represent a network of black
holes within a dynamical cosmology. We find exact solutions to Einstein's
constraint equations that provide the geometry of space at the minimum of
expansion and that can be used as initial data for the evolution of
hyperspherical cosmologies. These solutions illustrate that there exist models
in which multiple distinct black holes can persist through a bounce, and allow
for concrete computations of quantities such as the black hole filling factor.
We then consider solutions in flat cosmologies, as well as in
higher-dimensional spaces (with up to nine spatial dimensions). We derive
conditions for the black holes to remain distinct (i.e. avoid merging) and
hence persist into the new expansion phase. Some potentially interesting
consequences of these models are also discussed.
