Big-bounce in projectively invariant Nieh-Yan models: The Bianchi I case

We show that the Nieh-Yan topological invariant breaks projective symmetry and loses its topological character in presence of non vanishing nonmetricity. The notion of the Nieh-Yan topological invariant is then extended to the generic metric-affine case, defining a generalized Nieh-Yan term, which allows to recover topologicity and projective invariance, independently. As a concrete example a class of modified theories of gravity is considered and its dynamical properties are investigated in a cosmological setting. In particular, bouncing cosmological solutions in Bianchi I models are derived. Finite time singularities affecting these solutions are analysed, showing that the geodesic completeness and the regular behavior of scalar perturbations in these space-times are not spoiled.