Before the Big Bang: the Apollonian Universe

We propose that the Big Bang does not have a singular start, but that it originates from gravitational collapse of a low density cloud to form a Black Hole (BH) of mass M≃6×1022M⊙ about 25 Gyrs ago. After 11Gyrs of collapse, it results in a high density cloud that bounces into expansion because of neutron degeneracy pressure. Observationally, this model is very similar to the standard Big Bang cosmology but there is no need for Inflation or Dark Energy (DE). The observed cosmological constant Λ is not a new form of DE, but results from the dynamics of the Big Bang expansion inside the BH event horizon rS=2GM=3/Λ. Why our Universe has such a large mass M (or small Λ value)? If τO ≃10Gyr is the astronomical time needed for observers like us to exist, we find a simple anthropic prediction, based only on gravitational collapse from Gaussian fluctuations, that the maximum probability for M is MO < M < 3MO where MO = τO/3G. This agrees well with the measured values for τO and M in our Universe.