Andreas Albrecht, UC Davis
Challenges for a quantum theory of the universe
I review three challenges faced by attempts to develop a quantum theory of the universe and examine possible relationships between them. 1) The clock ambiguity: The choice of time parameter leads to profound ambiguities. 2) The choice of state: I contrast the de Sitter equilibrium picture with eternal inflation. 3) The Born rule crisis: The born rule is insufficient to construct probabilities in a large multiverse without additional rules or assumptions (as discussed by Don Page).

Robert Brandenberger, McGill University
Holography in String Gas Cosmology
I will review the string gas scenario of structure formation, stressing the role which holography plays. I will also discuss another way of obtaining a scale-invariant spectrum of cosmological perturbations (with specific signatures in the bispectrum) which may be realizable in scenarios based on the AdS/CFT correspondence which can resolve the cosmological singularity.

Paolo Creminelli, ICTP, Trieste
The effective theory of quintessence: the w<-1 side unveiled
We study generic single-field dark energy models, by a parametrization of the most general theory of their perturbations around a given background, including higher derivative terms. In appropriate limits this approach reproduces standard quintessence, k-essence and ghost condensation. We find no general pathology associated to an equation of state w_Q < -1 or in crossing the phantom divide w_Q = -1. Stability requires that the w_Q < -1 side of dark energy behaves, on cosmological scales, as a k-essence fluid with a virtually zero speed of sound. This implies that one should set the speed of sound to zero when comparing with data models with w_Q < -1 or crossing the phantom divide. We summarize the theoretical and stability constraints on the quintessential plane (1+w_Q) vs. speed of sound squared.

Ben Craps, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Holographic Resolution of Cosmological Singularities
An update is given on AdS/CFT models of cosmological singularities, in particular on models in which a big crunch instability of the bulk theory is induced by an unstable multi-trace deformation of the dual field theory.

Albion Lawrence, Brandeis University
Insightful D-branes
We will describe black holes in AdS with hyperbolic horizons, and obtain a holographic description of the region inside the horizon, focusing on the dynamics of the scalar fields in the dual gauge theory. This leads to a proposal for a dual description of D-branes falling through the horizon of any AdS black hole. The proposal uses a field-dependent time reparameterization in the field theory. We relate this reparametrization to various gauge invariances of the theory. Finally, we speculate on information loss and the black hole singularity in this context. This talk will be based on arxiv:0904.3922, and ongoing work with the same authors.

Sumit Das, University of Kentucky
Gauge Duals of some Singularities
Certain classes of cosmological backgrounds in asymptotically anti-de-Sitter space-times have hologropically dual descriptions in terms of gauge theories. We analyse such backgrounds with smooth initial conditions, where curvatures become strong in a finite time and the gravity equations break down.  We will show how the dual gauge theory can be used to continue time evolution in this singular region and speculate on the nature of space-time at late times.

Andrew Frey, McGill University
Dark Matter in Holographic Geometry

Jaume Garriga, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
Conformal invariance and the multiverse

Thomas Hertog, APC
The No-Boundary Measure and Eternal Inflation

Matthew Johnson, Caltech
Dynamical compactification from de Sitter space
In theories with more than four dimensions, de Sitter space is unstable to the nucleation of non-singular geometries containing spacetime regions with different numbers of macroscopic dimensions, leading to a dynamical mechanism of compactification. I will describe this scenario in detail, outlining the spacetime structure of the interpolating geometries, the phenomenology of transition rates, and implications for early universe cosmology.

Albion Lawrence, Brandeis University
Insightful D-branes
We will describe black holes in AdS with hyperbolic horizons, and obtain a holographic description of the region inside the horizon, focusing on the dynamics of the scalar fields in the dual gauge theory. This leads to a proposal for a dual description of D-branes falling through the horizon of any AdS black hole. The proposal uses a field-dependent time reparameterization in the field theory. We relate this reparametrization to various gauge invariances of the theory. Finally, we speculate on information loss and the black hole singularity in this context. This talk will be based on arxiv:0904.3922, and ongoing work with the same authors.

Alberto Nicolis, Columbia University
The null energy condition and its violators

Don Page, University of Alberta
The Born Rule Fails in Cosmology

Leonardo Senatore, Harvard University
The Volume of the Universe after Inflation and de Sitter Entropy

Kostas Skenderis, University of Amsterdam
Holography for cosmology
We propose a holographic description of four dimensional single scalar inflationary universes, in particular asymptotically de Sitter cosmologies and power-law inflation. We show how cosmological observables such as the primordial power spectrum and non-gaussianities are encoded in correlation functions of a three dimensional QFT.

Takihiro Tanaka, Tokyo University
Black Holes localized on the brane
In Randall-Sundrum single-brane (RS-II) model, it was conjectured that there is no static large black hole localized on the brane based on adS/CFT correspondence. Here we consider the phase diagram of black objects in the models extended from the RS-II model. We propose a scenario for the phase diagram consistent with the classical black  hole evaporation conjecture. The proposed scenario indicates the existence of a rich variety of the families of black objects. We present several side evidences that support the whole picture.

Alexander Vilenkin, Tufts University
Holographic Multiverse