Related papers: Volume Weighting in the No Boundary Proposal
We propose a cosmological lingering phase for the initial state prior to inflation which would help address the singularity problem of inflation. The universe begins with a constant (Hagedorn) temperature and then transitions into an…
A quantum mechanical model for an N + 1 dimensional universe arising from a quantum fluctuation is outlined. (3 + 1) dimensions are a closed infinitely-expanding universe and the remaining N - 3 dimensions are compact. The (3 + 1)…
Primordial fluctuations in inflationary cosmology acquire classical properties through decoherence when their wavelengths become larger than the Hubble scale. Although decoherence is effective, it is not complete, so a significant part of…
A procedure for solving Wheeler-DeWitt equation in Euclidean region, following step by step the construction of tunneling wave function in nonrelativistic quantum mechanics by Banks, Bender and Wu, is proposed. Solutions for a universe…
We consider quantization of the positive curvature Friedmann cosmology in the unimodular modification of Einstein's theory, in which the spacetime four-volume appears as an explicit time variable. The Hamiltonian admits self-adjoint…
A scale-invariant universe can have a period of accelerated expansion at early times: inflation. We use a frame-invariant approach to calculate inflationary observables in a scale invariant theory of gravity involving two scalar fields -…
Over 30 years ago, Barrow & Tipler proposed the principle according to which the action integrated over the entire 4-manifold describing the universe should be finite. Here we explore the cosmological consequences of a related criterion,…
An extremely fast exponential expansion of the Universe is typical for the stable version of the inflationary model, based on the anomaly-induced action of gravity. The total amount of exponential $e$-folds could be very large, before the…
We present a natural scenario for obtaining an open universe ($\Omega _0<1$) through inflation. In this scenario, there are two epochs of inflationary expansion---an epoch of `old inflation,' during which the inflaton field is stuck in a…
Bouncing models are alternatives to inflationary cosmology that replace the initial Big-Bang singularity by a `bouncing' phase. A deeper understanding of the initial conditions of the universe, in these scenarios, requires knowledge of…
Gravitational backgrounds, such as black holes, AdS, de Sitter and inflationary universes, should be viewed as composite of N soft constituent gravitons. It then follows that such systems are close to quantum criticality of graviton…
We show that a contracting universe which bounces due to quantum cosmological effects and connects to the hot big-bang expansion phase, can produce an almost scale invariant spectrum of perturbations provided the perturbations are produced…
We describe a scenario for inflation in the framework of non-critical string theory, which does not employ an inflaton field. There is an exponential expansion of the volume of the Universe, induced by enormous entropy production in the…
We discuss a no-boundary proposal for a subregion of the universe. In the classical approximation, this density matrix involves finding a specific classical solution of the equations of motion with no boundary. Beyond the usual no boundary…
We compute the distribution of sizes of inflating and non-inflating regions in an eternally inflating Universe. As a first illustrative problem, we study a simple scenario of an eternally inflating Universe in the presence of a massless…
Using ideas of STM theory, but starting from a 6D vacuum state, we propose an inflationary model where the universe emerges from the blast of a white hole. Under this approach, the expansion is affected by a geometrical deformation induced…
The spatial curvature of the universe is not yet known. Even though at present the Universe is very close to being essentially flat and most signatures of curvature appear to have been diluted by inflation, if the number of e-foldings…
Wheeler-DeWitt equation is applied to $k > 0$ Friedmann Robertson Walker metric with various types of matter. It is shown that if the Universe ends in the matter dominated era (e.g., radiation or pressureless gas) with zero cosmological…
The trans-Planckian censorship conjecture (TCC) puts an upper bound on the life-time of de Sitter spacetimes. It has immediate consequences for inflationary cosmology. In the standard paradigm, the universe has experienced a single stage of…
The aim of this paper is to show, that the 'oscillating universe' is a viable alternative to inflation. We remind that this model provides a natural solution to the flatness or entropy and to the horizon problem of standard cosmology. We…