From pre- to post-big bang: an (almost) self-dual cosmological history

Abstract: We present a short introduction to a non-standard cosmological scenario motivated by the duality symmetries of string theory, in which the big bang singularity is replaced with a "big bounce" at high but finite curvature. The bouncing epoch is prepared by a long (possibly infinitely extended) phase of cosmic evolution, starting from an initial state asymptotically approaching the string perturbative vacuum.