Abstract
JHEP 9901:019,1999 We show that a subgroup of the modular group of M-theory compactified on a
ten torus, implies the Lorentzian structure of the moduli space, that is
usually associated with naive discussions of quantum cosmology based on the low
energy Einstein action. This structure implies a natural division of the
asymptotic domains of the moduli space into regions which can/cannot be mapped
to Type II string theory or 11D Supergravity (SUGRA) with large radii. We call
these the safe and unsafe domains. The safe domain is the interior of the
future light cone in the moduli space while the unsafe domain contains the
spacelike region and the past light cone. Within the safe domain, apparent
cosmological singularities can be resolved by duality transformations and we
briefly provide a physical picture of how this occurs. The unsafe domains
represent true singularities where all field theoretic description of the
physics breaks down. They violate the holographic principle. We argue that this
structure provides a natural arrow of time for cosmology. All of the Kasner
solutions, of the compactified SUGRA theory interpolate between the past and
future light cones of the moduli space. We describe tentative generalizations
of this analysis to moduli spaces with less SUSY.