English

Wave Packet in Quantum Cosmology and Definition of Semiclassical Time

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2009-10-28 v1

Abstract

We consider a quantum cosmology with a massless background scalar field \pb\pb and adopt a wave packet as the wave function. This wave packet is a superposition of the WKB form wave functions, each of which has a definite momentum of the scalar field \pb\pb. In this model it is shown that to trace the formalism of the WKB time is seriously difficult without introducing a complex value for a time. We define a semiclassical real time variable \tp\tp from the phase of the wave packet and calculate it explicitly. We find that, when a quantum matter field \pq\pq is coupled to the system, an approximate Schr\"odinger equation for \pq\pq holds with respect to \tp\tp in a region where the size aa of the universe is large and \pb|\pb| is small.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.gr-qc/9606006,
  title  = {Wave Packet in Quantum Cosmology and Definition of Semiclassical Time},
  author = {Yoshiaki Ohkuwa and Tetsuro Kitazoe},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:gr-qc/9606006},
  year   = {2009}
}

Comments

20 pages, latex, no figures