Geometry and topology of the quasi-plane Szekeres model

Abstract

This paper is a revised version of arXiv:0805.0529 and Phys.Rev. D78, 064038 (2008), taking into account the erratum published in Phys.Rev. D85, 069903(E) (2012). Geometrical and topological properties of the quasi-plane Szekeres model and of the plane symmetric dust model are discussed. Some related comments on the quasi-hyperbolical model are made. These properties include: (1) The pattern of expansion in the plane symmetric case, and the Newtonian model that imitates it; (2) The possibility of toroidal topology of the $t =$ const sections in the plane symmetric model; (3) The absence of apparent horizons in the quasi-plane and quasi-hyperbolic models (they are globally trapped); (4) Description of the toroidal topology in the Szekeres coordinates; (5) Interpretation of the mass function in the quasi-plane model.