Related papers: Quantum Gravity, Time, Bounces and Matter
In this work we shall study a possible pre-inflationary scenario for our Universe and how this might be realized by $f(R)$ gravity. Specifically, we shall introduce a scenario in which the Universe in the pre-inflationary era contracts…
Positively-curved, oscillatory universes are studied within the context of Loop Quantum Cosmology subject to a consistent semi-classical treatment. The semi-classical effects are reformulated in terms of an effective phantom fluid with a…
The quantum gravitational scale of inflation is calculated by finding a sharp probability peak in the distribution function of chaotic inflationary cosmologies driven by a scalar field with large negative constant $\xi$ of nonminimal…
The physics of the inflationary universe requires the study of the out of equilibrium evolution of quantum fields in curved spacetime. We present the evolution for both the geometry and the matter (described by the quantum inflaton field)…
This paper focuses on the search for a coherent and consistent formulation to describe quantum gravity corrections to Quantum Field Theory. We implement two fundamental ingredients discussed in previous analyses: on one hand, the…
In the very early Universe matter can be described as a conformal invariant ultra-relativistic perfect fluid, which does not contribute, on classical level, to the evolution of the isotropic and homogeneous metric. However, in this…
Using the Ashtekar-Sen variables of loop quantum gravity, a new class of exact solutions to the equations of quantum cosmology is found for gravity coupled to a scalar field, that corresponds to inflating universes. The scalar field, which…
It is well-known that the primordial scalar curvature and tensor perturbations, $\zeta$ and $\gamma_{ij}$, are conserved on super-horizon scales in minimal inflation models. However, their wave functional has a rapidly oscillating phase…
Non-perturbative quantum geometric effects in Loop Quantum Cosmology predict a $\rho^2$ modification to the Friedmann equation at high energies. The quadratic term is negative definite and can lead to generic bounces when the matter energy…
After a brief summary of decoherence and quantum to classical transition in cosmology we focus on the study of quantum decoherence of cosmological perturbations in inflationary universe, that does not rely on any environment. This is what…
Particle phase transitions in the early universe including electroweak and grand unification ones are well-studied subjects. We point out that there are new possible particle phase transitions around inflation. Those new inflationary…
The inflationary paradigm is an important cornerstone of the concordance cosmological model. However, standard inflation cannot fully address the transition from an early homogeneous and isotropic stage, to another one lacking such…
In loop quantum cosmology, the universe avoids a big bang singularity and undergoes an early and short super-inflation phase. During super-inflation, non-perturbative quantum corrections to the dynamics drive an inflaton field up its…
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…
We study the effects of various phenomena which may have happened in the early universe on the spectrum of inflationary gravitational waves. The phenomena include phase transitions, entropy productions from non-relativistic matter, the…
Based on the conventional metric tensor and driven by a nearly constant energy density, cosmic inflation, characterized by a remarkably accelerated expansion, was proposed as an early epoch in the Universe. The energy density is typically…
It is sometimes argued that observation of tensor modes from inflation would provide the first evidence for quantum gravity. However, in the usual inflationary formalism, also the scalar modes involve quantised metric perturbations. We…
Inflationary perturbations are quantum in origin. Yet, when computing cosmological observables, they are often treated as classical stochastic fields. Do they nevertheless retain quantum birthmarks? A hallmark of genuinely quantum behaviour…
We study the implications of deformed quantum algebras for the generation of primordial perturbations from slow-roll inflation. Specifically, we assume that the quantum commutator of the inflaton's amplitude and momentum in Fourier space…
We discuss the evolution of gravitational waves in a brane-world cosmology embedded in five-dimensional anti-de Sitter spacetime. We show that during slow-roll inflation, modelled as a period of quasi-de Sitter expansion on the brane, there…