Related papers: The interacting multiverse and its effect on the c…
We analyze a quantized toy model of a universe undergoing eternal inflation using a quantum-field-theoretical formulation of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation. This so-called third quantization method leads to the picture that the eternally…
We examine a new multiverse scenario in which the component universes interact. We focus our attention to the process of "true" vacuum nucleation in the false vacuum within one single element of the multiverse. It is shown that the…
There is an apparent power deficit relative to the Lambda-CDM prediction of the CMB spectrum at large scales, which, though not yet statistically significant, persists from WMAP to Planck data. We first present a simple toy model…
The status of quantum cosmologies as testable models of the early universe is assessed in the context of inflation. While traditional Wheeler-DeWitt quantization is unable to produce sizable effects in the cosmic microwave background, the…
The inflationary and pre-inflationary evolution of scalar modes of cosmological perturbations in a closed universe is analyzed for a loop quantum cosmology model with an inflationary regime consistent with the constraints on inflation…
We investigate the question whether small quantum-gravitational effects can be observed in the anisotropy spectrum of the cosmic microwave background radiation. An observation of such an effect is needed in order to discriminate between…
We develop a quantum-cosmological framework in which the inflationary potential emerges from the structure of the wave function of the universe rather than being postulated. Starting from the Wheeler-DeWitt equation for a flat…
The (large-scale) structures we observe in the Universe are classical, but within the inflationary scenario they do originate from quantum fluctuations. This leads to the question: ''How did this quantum-to-classical transition occur?''. A…
We evaluate the modifications to the cosmic microwave background anisotropy spectrum that result from a semiclassical expansion of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation. Recently, such an investigation in the case of a real scalar field coupled to…
An assessment is made of recent attempts to evaluate how quantum gravity may affect the anisotropy spectrum of the cosmic microwave background. A perturbative scheme for the solution of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation has been found to allow…
Models of cosmic inflation suggest that our universe underwent an early phase of accelerated expansion, driven by the dynamics of one or more scalar fields. Inflationary models make specific, quantitative predictions for several observable…
Collisions between cosmic bubbles of different vacua are a generic feature of false vacuum eternal inflation scenarios. While previous studies have focused on the consequences of a single collision event in an observer's past, we begin here…
In the context of Quantum Cosmology and the Wheeler-DeWitt equation we investigate the possible effects of a non semiclassical wave-function of the universe on the evolution of the inflationary perturbations. These are associated with the…
We argue that the observed large-scale cosmic microwave anomalies, discovered by WMAP and confirmed by the Planck satellite, are most naturally explained in the context of a marginally-open universe. Particular focus is placed on the dipole…
In order to find the correct theory of quantum gravity, one has to look for observational effects in any candidate theory. Here, we focus on canonical quantum gravity and calculate the quantum-gravitational contributions to the anisotropy…
We consider a quantum deformation of the wave equation on a cosmological background as a toy-model for possible trans-Planckian effects. We compute the power spectrum of scalar and tensor fluctuations for power-law inflation, and find a…
The solution to large-scale power deficit in the cosmic microwave background fluctuations may be relevant with the physics in the preinflationry period, and significantly depends on whether the initial conditions are set as Bunch-Davies…
We wish to demonstrate how the presence of a dynamic cosmological parameter, plus a model of the universe as a quantum computer can be combined to give us a picture of early universe inflationary physics which is quite non linear, with a…
Currently there is no definitive description for the accelerated expansion of the Universe at both early and late times; we know these two periods as the epochs of inflation and dark energy. Contained within this Thesis are two studies of…
An epoch of accelerated expansion, or inflation, in the early universe solves several cosmological problems. While there are many models of inflation only recently has it become possible to discriminate between some of the models using…