Related papers: Introductory Lectures on Quantum Cosmology (1990)
This is an introductory set of lecture notes on quantum cosmology, given in 1995 to an audience with interests ranging from astronomy to particle physics. Topics covered: 1. Introduction: 1.1 Quantum cosmology and quantum gravity; 1.2 A…
A complete model of the universe needs at least three parts: (1) a complete set of physical variables and dynamical laws for them, (2) the correct solution of the dynamical laws, and (3) the connection with conscious experience. In quantum…
The development of quantum cosmology, in which Stephen Hawking played a crucial role, has frequently encountered substantial conceptual and technical difficulties related to the problem of time in quantum gravity and to general issues…
Loop quantum cosmology applies techniques derived for a background independent quantization of general relativity to cosmological situations and draws conclusions for the very early universe. Direct implications for the singularity problem…
We contrast the initial condition requirements of various contemporary cosmological models, including inflationary and bouncing cosmologies. Various proposals such as Hartle-Hawking's no boundary, or Tunnelling boundary conditions are…
I review the tunneling, Hartle-Hawking and Linde proposals for the wave function of the universe and comment on the recent work on quantum creation of open universes.
In this review article we compare the recent work of Peter Lynds, "On a finite universe with no beginning or end", with that of Stephen Hawking, primarily "Quantum Cosmology, M-Theory, and the Anthropic Principle", and two foundational…
The quantum cosmological version of a nonsingular Universe presented by Mukhanov and Brandenberger in the early nineties has been developed and the Hamilton Jacobi equation has been found under semiclassical (WKB) approximation. It has been…
This paper gives an elementary introduction to some of the conceptual problems of quantum cosmology. Contents: 1. Why quantum cosmology? 2. Time in quantum gravity 3.Decoherence and the recovery of the Schrodinger equation 4. The direction…
We examine an extension of the ideas of quantum cosmology and, in particular, the proposal of Hartle and Hawking for the boundary conditions of the Universe, to models which incorporate Yang-Mills fields. Inhomogeneous perturbations about a…
Two fundamental laws are needed for prediction in the universe: (1) a basic dynamical law and (2) a law for the cosmological initial condition. Quantum cosmology is the area of basic research concerned with the search for a theory of the…
We give an introduction into quantum cosmology with emphasis on its conceptual parts. After a general motivation we review the formalism of canonical quantum gravity on which discussions of quantum cosmology are usually based. We then…
Lectures by the author at the 1986 Cargese summer school modestly corrected and uploaded for greater accessibility. Some of the author's views on the quantum mechanics of cosmology have changed from those presented here but may still be of…
Using the holographic entropy proposal for a closed universe by Verlinde, a bound on equations of state for different stages of the universe is obtained. Further exploring this bound, we find that an inflationary universe naturally emerges…
Quantum cosmology from the late sixties into the early twenty-first century is reviewed and appraised in the form of a debate, set up by two presentations on mainly the Wheeler-DeWitt quantization and on loop quantum cosmology,…
The first part of this lecture quickly touches upon some important but infrequently discussed issues in large extra dimension and warped extra dimension scenarios, with particular reference to effects in the early universe. The second part…
Invited contribution to the Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics (2nd edition), providing an overview over some main ideas and results in quantum cosmology. Key points: Canonical quantisation of homogeneous, isotropic cosmology; discussion…
A complete model of the universe needs at least three parts: (1) a complete set of physical variables and dynamical laws for them, (2) the correct solution of the dynamical laws, and (3) the connection with conscious experience. In quantum…
Why is it interesting to try to understand the origin of the universe? Everything we observe today, including our existence, arose from that event. Although we still do not have a theory that allows us to describe the origin itself, the…
Quantum cosmology has traditionally been studied at the level of symmetry-reduced minisuperspace models, analyzing the behavior of wave functions. However, in the absence of a complete full setting of quantum gravity and detailed knowledge…