Who was the first to find an initial singularity in GR models of the universe?

[windy miller]

I have a question about the history of cosmology, hope its okay to ask here. Who was the first person since Einstein's Gr to point out a singularity in cosmology? I know Freidman talked of an expanding universe and Lematire a primeval atom. But were there any explicit mentions of the density of the universe going to infinity in these early papers? If not who was the first?

 

[PeterDonis]

Who was the first person since Einstein's Gr to point out a singularity in cosmology?

Your thread title says "singularity theorems". Are you interested in the theorems, or just in who first discovered a curvature singularity in a solution to the Einstein Field Equation?

 

[Klystron]

I am beginning to think these precedent questions are indeterminate. As a Jesuit scholar Georges Lemaitre wrote and discussed such questions in contemporary letters and lectures. How does one assign precedence in ongoing correspondence? Or presume to know the contents of unrecorded lectures and conversations?

Also consider astronomer Karl Schwarzschild's publications and letters before his untimely death from illness while serving in WWI. The link lacks detail but his letters may be available in German.

 

[windy miller]

Your thread title says "singularity theorems". Are you interested in the theorems, or just in who first discovered a curvature singularity in a solution to the Einstein Field Equation?

Im interested in curvature singularities especially in a cosmological setting,

 

[PeterDonis]

Im interested in curvature singularities especially in a cosmological setting

This doesn't answer my question. Read what I asked again.

 

[windy miller]

Maybe I can be a little clearer i would like to know who was the first to analyse Einsteins equations and conclude that if we trace the history of the an expanding universe back int time we get to a point of infinite density . I know Friedman considered an expanding universe but i don't know if he traced it back to an infinite density in the finite past. I know Lemaitre talked of a primordial atom and a day without a yesterday but don't know if he derived that from an infinite density . Is my question clearer now?

 

[PeterDonis]

i would like to know who was the first to analyse Einsteins equations and conclude that if we trace the history of the an expanding universe back int time we get to a point of infinite density .

Ok. I have edited the thread title to better reflect this question.

I don't know if Friedmann's initial paper (in 1922 IIRC) pointed out that there was an initial singularity with infinite density in the model. I believe that by the 1930's a number of cosmologists, including Friedmann, Robertson, Walker, and Milne, were aware that the class of models they were considering had initial singularities with infinite density, but I don't know how much attention they paid to that property. My impression is that they were more concerned about how to interpret the equations physically at times in the model corresponding to "now" (or near that); it was not at all clear at that time to many physicists how to do that.

 

[windy miller]

Thanks for your reply Peter and the re editing of the question. If anyone else can offer more insights , even a first reference that would be awesome but answer so far is much appreciated.