Related papers: Introductory Lectures on Quantum Cosmology (1990)
Fractional calculus is a couple of centuries old, but its development has been less embraced and it was only within the last century that a program of applications for physics started. Regarding quantum physics, it has been only in the…
Within the framework of the new formalism of quantum theory - the quantum principle of least action - the initial state of the universe is determined, which is an analogue of the Hartle-Hawking no-boundary wave function. The quantum…
The recent suggestion that late time quantum dynamics may be important for resolving cosmological issues associated with our observed universe requires a consideration of several subtle issues associated with quantum cosmology, as we…
Quantum effects play an essential role in modern cosmology. Perhaps the most striking example comes from large-scale structures, generally assumed to originate from vacuum quantum fluctuations and stretched by an expansion phase. Inflation…
Our knowledge about the universe has increased tremendously in the last three decades or so --- thanks to the progress in observations --- but our understanding has improved very little. There are several fundamental questions about our…
The interpretation of quantum mechanics (or, for that matter, of any physical theory) consists in answering the question: How can the world be for the theory to be true? That question is especially pressing in the case of the long-distance…
The paper by Sato and Kobayashi in 1977 studied the cosmological effects of a massive neutrino and obtained constraints on its properties. This paper initiated many studies to use cosmology as a laboratory of particle physics or to use…
Quantum cosmology aims at elucidating the beginning of our Universe. Back in early 80's, Vilenkin and Hartle-Hawking put forward the "tunneling from nothing" and "no boundary" proposals. Recently there has been renewed interest in this…
Quantum information theory and the multiverse are two of the greatest outcomes of the XX century physics. The consideration of entanglement between the quantum states of two or more universes in a multiverse scenario provides us with a…
Minisuperpace Quantum Cosmology is an approach by which it is possible to infer initial conditions for dynamical systems which can suitably represent observable and non-observable universes. Here we discuss theories of gravity which, from…
The current accelerating phase of the evolution of the universe is considered by constructing most economical cosmic models that use just general relativity and some dominating quantum effects associated with the probabilistic description…
The discovery of universe's late-time acceleration and dark energy has overseen a great deal of research into cosmological singularities and in this brief review, we discuss all the prominent developments in this field for the best part of…
Quantum creation of the universe is described by the {\em density matrix} defined by the Euclidean path integral. This yields an ensemble of universes -- a cosmological landscape -- in a mixed quasi-thermal state which is shown to be…
Recent years have seen dramatic progress in cosmology and particle astrophysics. So much so that anyone who dares to offer an overview would certainly risk him- or herself for being incomplete and biased at best, and even incorrect due to…
This contribution intends to give a pedagogical introduction to the topic of dark energy (the mysterious agent supposed to drive the observed late time acceleration of the Universe) and to various observational tests which require only…
The current status of early universe cosmology can be summarized as precision, but inherently limited, data requiring explanation from precision and robust theory. Specifically inflation is presently the single concrete hope for solving the…
Quantum cosmology uses a wave function to model the universe, but finding solutions for this poses a problem as it is difficult to define the boundary conditions or identify the correct path for a path integral. We begin the discussion by…
After introducing the basic ingredients of Loop Quantum Cosmology, I will briefly discuss some of its phenomenological aspects. Those can give some useful insight about the full Loop Quantum Gravity theory and provide an answer to some…
A brief overview of loop quantum cosmology of homogeneous isotropic models is presented with emphasis on the origin of and subtleties associated with the resolution of big bang and big crunch singularities. These results bear out the…
In a quantum cosmological model consisting of a Euclidean region and a Lorentzian region, Hartle-Hawking's no-bounary wave function, and Linde's wave function and Vilenkin's tunneling wave function are briefly described and compared with…