Related papers: Consistent Histories in Quantum Cosmology
We give an explicit, rigorous framework for calculating quantum probabilities in a model theory of quantum gravity. Specifically, we construct the decoherence functional for the Wheeler-DeWitt quantization of a flat…
A fundamental issue for any quantum cosmological theory is to specify how probabilities can be assigned to various quantum events or sequences of events such as the occurrence of singularities or bounces. In previous work, we have…
We study the Wheeler-DeWitt quantum cosmology of a spatially flat Friedmann cosmological model with a massless free scalar field. We compare the consistent histories approach with the de Broglie-Bohm theory when applied to this simple model…
Recently it has been claimed that the Wheeler-DeWitt quantization of gravity is unable to avoid cosmological singularities. However, in order to make this assertion, one must specify the underlying interpretation of quantum mechanics which…
We review the application of the consistent (or decoherent) histories formulation of quantum theory to canonical loop quantum cosmology. Conventional quantum theory relies crucially on "measurements" to convert unrealized quantum…
We consider a Bohmian approach to the Wheeler-DeWitt quantization of the Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker model and investigate the question whether or not there are singularities, in the sense that the universe reaches zero volume. We…
In quantum cosmology, one has to select a specific wave function solution of the quantum state equations under consideration in order to obtain concrete results. The simplest choices have been already explored, in different frameworks,…
Assignment of consistent quantum probabilities to events in a quantum universe is a fundamental challenge which every quantum cosmology/gravity framework must overcome. In loop quantum cosmology, this issue leads to a fundamental question:…
In the quantization of simple cosmological models (minisuperspace models) described by the Wheeler-DeWitt equation, an important step is the construction, from the wave function, of a probability distribution answering various questions of…
In this paper it is studied the cosmology of a homogeneous and isotropic spacetime endorsed with a conformally coupled massless scalar field. We find six different solutions of the Friedmann equation that represent six different types of…
We find a Friedmann model with appropriate matter/energy density such that the solution of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation exactly corresponds to the classical evolution. The well-known problems in quantum cosmology disappear in the resulting…
Building upon our recently established correspondence between quantum cosmology and the hydrogen atom [1], we investigate the specific sector of a negative cosmological constant ($\Lambda < 0$) in a flat FLRW universe with dust. While the…
First a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) universe filled with dust and a conformally invariant scalar field is quantized. For the closed model we find a discrete set of wormhole quantum states. In the case of flat spacelike sections we find…
We offer a new proposal for cosmic singularity resolution based upon a quantum cosmology with a unitary bounce. This proposal is illustrated via a novel quantization of a mini-superspace model in which there can be superpositions of the…
I review the decoherent (or consistent) histories approach to quantum mechanics, due to Griffiths, to Gell-Mann and Hartle, and to Omnes. This is an approach to standard quantum theory specifically designed to apply to genuinely closed…
We present a rigorous formulation of the Quantum Big Bounce for the closed isotropic Universe, filled with a self-interacting scalar field, that emerges from the interaction with an ekpyrotic potential. Working in a covariant approach to…
Traditional interpretations of quantum theory in terms of wave function collapse are particularly unappealing when considering the universe as a whole, where there is no clean separation between classical observer and quantum system and…
Inspired by quantum cosmology, in which the wave function of the universe is annihilated by the total Hamiltonian, we consider the internal dynamics of a simple particle system in an energy eigenstate. Such a system does not possess a…
We study the Wheeler-DeWitt quantization of a spatially flat Friedmann-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) universe with pressureless dust (modeled via the Brown-Kucha\v{r} formalism) and a dynamical cosmological constant $\Lambda$ treated…
The method of decoherent histories allows probabilities to be assigned to sequences of quantum events in systems, such as the universe as a whole, where there is no external observer to make measurements. This paper applies the method of…