Geometry and stability of dynamical systems.

We reconsider both the global and local stability of solutions of continuously evolving dynamical systems from a geometric perspective. We clarify that an unambiguous definition of stability generally requires the choice of additional geometric structure that is not intrinsic to the dynamical system itself. While we explain that global Lyapunov stability is based on the choice of seminorms on the vector bundle of perturbations, we propose a definition of local stability based on the choice of a linear connection.

Accelerating cosmologies from compactification.

A solution of the (4+n)-dimensional vacuum Einstein equations is found for which spacetime is compactified on an n-dimensional compact hyperbolic manifold (n> or =2) of time-varying volume to a flat four-dimensional Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker cosmology undergoing a period of accelerated expansion in the Einstein conformal frame. This shows that the "no-go" theorem forbidding acceleration in "standard" (time-independent) compactifications of string or M theory does not apply to "cosmological" (time-dependent) hyperbolic compactifications.