Related papers: Tachyon field in loop quantum cosmology: An exampl…
Cosmological models where the standard big bang is replaced by a bounce have been studied for decades. The situation has, however, dramatically changed in the past years for two reasons: first, because new ways to probe the early Universe…
The closed, k=1, FRW model coupled to a massless scalar field is investigated in the framework of loop quantum cosmology using analytical and numerical methods. As in the k=0 case, the scalar field can be again used as emergent time to…
An oscillating universe cycles through a series of expansions and contractions. We propose a model in which ``phantom'' energy with $p < -\rho$ grows rapidly and dominates the late-time expanding phase. The universe's energy density is so…
Quantum gravity is sometimes considered as a kind of metaphysical speculation. In this review, we show that, although still extremely difficult to reach, observational signatures can in fact be expected. The early universe is an invaluable…
We study the gravitational collapse of a massless scalar field within the effective scenario of loop quantum gravity. Classical singularity is avoided and replaced by a quantum bounce in this model. It is shown that, quantum gravity effects…
Loop Quantum Cosmology (LQC) is a theory which renders the Big Bang initial singularity into a quantum bounce, by means of short range repulsive quantum effects at the Planck scale. In this work, we are interested in reproducing the…
Isotropic models in loop quantum cosmology allow explicit calculations, thanks largely to a completely known volume spectrum, which is exploited in order to write down the evolution equation in a discrete internal time. Because of genuinely…
General relativity successfully describes space-times at scales that we can observe and probe today, but it cannot be complete as a consequence of singularity theorems. For a long time there have been indications that quantum gravity will…
The "improved dynamics" of loop quantum cosmology is extended to include anisotropies of the Bianchi I model. As in the isotropic case, a massless scalar field serves as a relational time parameter. However, the extension is non-trivial…
There is a formal analogy between the evolution of the universe, when this is seen as a trajectory in the minisuperspace, and the worldline followed by a test particle in a curved spacetime. The analogy can be extended to the quantum realm,…
In Vilenkin's tunneling wavefunction proposal our expanding universe is born via a tunneling through a barrier from nothing at the zero scale factor. We explore the viability of this proposal for the spatially closed FLRW model with a…
Quantum cosmology in the presence of a fundamental minimal length is analyzed in the context of the flat isotropic and the Taub cosmological models. Such minimal scale comes out from a generalized uncertainty principle and the quantization…
We re-examine the process of loop quantization for flat isotropic models in cosmology. In particular, we contrast different inequivalent `loop quantizations' of these simple models through their respective successes and limitations and…
A set of diverse but mutually consistent results obtained in different settings has spawned a new view of loop quantum gravity and its physical implications, based on the interplay of operator calculations and effective theory: Quantum…
We discuss the issue of unitarity in particular quantum cosmological models with scalar field. The time variable is recovered, in this context, by using the Schutz's formalism for a radiative fluid. Two cases are considered: a phantom…
We study the dynamics of the Bianchi I universe in modified loop quantum cosmology (mLQC-I) and uncover a robust mechanism for isotropization: the shear is dynamically suppressed after the bounce and decays rapidly in the quantum…
We present the method of describing an evolution in quantum cosmology in the framework of the reduced phase space quantization of loop cosmology. We apply our method to the flat Friedman-Robertson-Walker model coupled to a massless scalar…
General Relativity is an extremely successful theory, at least for weak gravitational fields, however, it breaks down at very high energies, such as in correspondence of the initial singularity. Quantum Gravity is expected to provide more…
Loop quantum cosmology of the k=0 FRW model (with a massless scalar field) is shown to be exactly soluble if the scalar field is used as the internal time already in the classical Hamiltonian theory. Analytical methods are then used i) to…
We apply a very simple procedure to construct non-singular cosmological models for flat Friedmann universes filled with minimally coupled scalar fields or by tachyon Born-Infeld-type fields. Remarkably, for the minimally coupled scalar…