Related papers: Singularity avoidance in the hybrid quantization o…
We explore simple but novel bouncing solutions of general relativity that avoid singularities. These solutions require curvature k=+1, and are supported by a negative cosmological term and matter with -1 < w < -1/3. In the case of moderate…
Loop quantum cosmology provides a nice solution of avoiding the big bang singularity through a big bounce mechanism in the high energy region. In loop quantum cosmology an inflationary universe is emergent after the big bounce, no matter…
Quantum gravity is expected to be necessary in order to understand situations where classical general relativity breaks down. In particular in cosmology one has to deal with initial singularities, i.e. the fact that the backward evolution…
We study the phenomenon of bounces, as predicted by Belinski, Khalatnikov and Lifshitz (BKL) in the study of singularities arising from Einstein's equations, as an instability mechanism within the setting of the (inhomogeneous)…
We show that there exist modified theories of gravity in which the metric satisfies second-order equations and in which the Big Bang singularity is replaced by a cosmic bounce without violating any energy condition. In fact, the bounce is…
It is known that in loop quantum cosmology (LQC) the universe avoids the singularity by a bounce when the matter density approaches the critical density $\rho_c$ (the order of Planck density). After incorporating the inverse volume…
The global dynamics of a homogeneous universe in Loop Quantum Cosmology is viewed as a scattering process of its geometrodynamical equivalent. This picture is applied to build a flexible (easy to generalize) and not restricted just to…
Recently the mechanism was found which allows avoidance of the cosmological singularity within the semi-classical formulation of Loop Quantum Gravity. Numerical studies show that the presence of self-interaction potential of the scalar…
Loop quantum cosmology provides an efficient framework to study the evolution of the Universe beyond the classical Big Bang paradigm. Because of holonomy corrections, the singularity is replaced by a "bounce". The dynamics of the background…
An improved Hamiltonian constraint operator is introduced in loop quantum cosmology. Quantum dynamics of the spatially flat, isotropic model with a massless scalar field is then studied in detail using analytical and numerical methods. The…
It is shown that the cosmological singularity in isotropic minisuperspaces is naturally removed by quantum geometry. Already at the kinematical level, this is indicated by the fact that the inverse scale factor is represented by a bounded…
In this contribution we consider the issue of singularity resolution within loop quantum cosmology (LQC) for different homogeneous models. We present results of numerical evolutions of effective equations for both isotropic as well as…
We study a contracting universe composed of cold dark matter and radiation, and with a positive cosmological constant. As is well known from standard cosmological perturbation theory, under the assumption of initial quantum vacuum…
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…
We introduce the "wedge diagram," an intuitive way to illustrate how cosmological models with a classical (non-singular) bounce generically resolve fundamental problems in cosmology. These include the well-known horizon, flatness, and…
We develop approximation methods in the hybrid quantization of the Gowdy model with linear polarization and a massless scalar field, for the case of three-torus spatial topology. The loop quantization of the homogeneous gravitational sector…
In this paper we study the flat (k=0) cosmological FRW model with holonomy corrections of Loop Quantum Gravity. The considered universe contains a massless scalar field and the cosmological constant Lambda. We find analytical solutions for…
A consistent combination of quantum geometry effects rules out a large class of models of loop quantum cosmology and their critical densities as they have been used in the recent literature. In particular, the critical density at which an…
We argue that the anomalous power asymmetry observed in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) may have originated in a cosmic bounce preceding inflation. In loop quantum cosmology (LQC) the big bang singularity is generically replaced by a…
We show that simple scalar field models can give rise to curvature singularities in the effective Friedmann dynamics of Loop Quantum Cosmology (LQC). We find singular solutions for spatially flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmologies with…