  The question of whether the universe is eternal or if it had a singular
moment of creation is deeply intriguing. Although different versions of steady
state and oscillatory models of eternal universe have been envisaged, empirical
evidence suggests a singular moment of creation at the big bang. Here we
analyze the oscillatory solutions for the universe in a modified theory of
gravity THED (Torsion Hides Extra-Dimension) and evaluate them by fitting Type
1a supernovae redshift data. THED-gravity exactly mimics General Relativity at
the kinematical level, while the modifications in its dynamical equations allow
the universe to bounce between a minimum size and a maximum size with a zero
average energy within each oscillation. The optimally fit oscillatory solutions
correspond to a universe with (i) a small matter density requiring little to no
dark matter, (ii) a significantly negative spatial curvature, (iii) a tiny
negative dark energy. Alternatively, there exists non-oscillating solutions
that appear as an ever-expanding universe from a single bounce preceded by a
collapse from the infinite past. These ever-expanding solutions provide
marginally better fits to the supernova redshift data, but require larger
matter densities and positive dark energy along with a positive spatial
curvature. A qualitative analysis of CMB power spectrum in the modified theory
suggests a significant negative spatial curvature, which is in stark contrast
to a near-zero curvature in the standard big bang theory. An independent
constraint on the spatial curvature can further shed light on discriminating
the ever expanding and oscillatory universe scenarios.
