Related papers: No smooth beginning for spacetime
We show that the Einstein-Cartan-Sciama-Kibble theory of gravity with torsion not only extends general relativity to account for the intrinsic spin of matter, but it may also eliminate major problems in gravitational physics and answer…
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…
The alternative dynamics of loop quantum cosmology is examined by the path integral formulation. We consider the spatially flat FRW models with a massless scalar field, where the alternative quantization inherit more features from full loop…
We consider the Hartle-Hawking wavefunction of the universe defined as a Euclidean path integral that satisfies the "no-boundary proposal." We focus on the simplest minisuperspace model that comprises a single scale factor degree of freedom…
We review a novel and authentic way to quantize gravity. This novel approach is based on the fact that Einstein gravity can be formulated in terms of a symplectic geometry rather than a Riemannian geometry in the context of emergent…
Understanding the emergence of a tangible 4-dimensional space-time from a quantum theory of gravity promises to be a tremendously difficult task. This article makes the case that this task may not have to be carried. Space-time as we know…
Many useful concepts for a quantum theory of scattering and decay (like Lippmann-Schwinger kets, purely outgoing boundary conditions, exponentially decaying Gamow vectors, causality) are not well defined in the mathematical frame set by the…
A new path integral approach of quantum gravity based on relational variables and quantum test objects is presented. We take as a basic variables the squared invariant distance. This invariant quantity is technically simpler to work with…
Trajectories are a central concept in our understanding of classical phenomena and also in rationalizing quantum mechanical effects. In this work we provide a way to determine semiclassical paths, approximations to quantum averages in phase…
Newtonian gravity arises as the nonrelativistic, static, weak-field limit of some Lorentzian spacetime geometry solving the generally covariant Einstein equations for a given matter field configuration. Spacetime geometry has a local…
The time dependent density matrix of a system with potential barrier is studied using path integrals. The characterization of the initial state, which is assumed to be restricted to one side of the barrier, and the time evolution of the…
The early history of the universe might be described by a topological phase followed by a standard second phase of Einstein gravity. To study this scenario in its full generality, we consider a four-manifold of Euclidean signature in the…
Quantum cosmological models are commonly described by means of semiclassical approximations in which a smooth evolution of the expectation values of elementary geometry operators replaces the classical and singular dynamics. The advantage…
Feynman's Lagrangian path integral was an outgrowth of Dirac's vague surmise that Lagrangians have a role in quantum mechanics. Lagrangians implicitly incorporate Hamilton's first equation of motion, so their use contravenes the uncertainty…
This article will summarize selected aspects of the semiclassical theory of gravity, which involves a classical gravitational field coupled to quantum matter fields. Among the issues which will be discussed are the role of quantum effects…
In this thesis we present the cosmological applications of some proposals from Quantum Gravity. Namely, we will explore classical and quantum cosmological implications of the Generalized Uncertainty Principle (GUP), the Ho\v{r}ava-Lifshitz…
We introduce the Lorentzian path integral of nonlocal quantum gravity. After introducing the functional measure, the Faddeev-Popov sector and the field correlators, we move to perturbation theory and describe Efimov analytic continuation of…
The Lorentzian Hamiltonian constraint is solved for isotropic loop quantum cosmology coupled to a massless scalar field. As in the Euclidean case, the discreteness of quantum geometry removes the classical singularity from the quantum…
We show that the semi-classical analysis of generic Euclidean path integrals necessarily requires complexification of the action and measure, and consideration of complex saddle solutions. We demonstrate that complex saddle points have a…
The Problem of Time in Quantum Gravity is analyzed from a classical presymplectic perspective. In the first part of the paper the Three Space Approach to General Relativity is introduced via the Barbour-Foster-\'O Murchadha action and the…