Related papers: On the geometry of no-boundary instantons in loop …
The properties of the quantum universe on extremely small spacetime scales are studied in the semi-classical approach to the well-defined quantum model. It is shown that near the initial cosmological singularity point quantum gravity…
This papers offers a critical discussion on the procedure by which Loop Quantum Cosmology (LQC) is constructed from the full Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG) theory. Revising recent issues in preserving SU(2) symmetry when quantizing the…
For many years, the most active area of quantum cosmology has been the issue of choosing boundary conditions for the wave function of a universe. Recently, loop quantum cosmology, which is obtained from loop quantum gravity, has shed new…
Supersymmetric instanton solutions in four dimensional Euclidean ungauged Einstein-Maxwell theory are analysed and classified according to the fraction of supersymmetry they preserve, using spinorial geometry techniques.
We investigate the effects of the underlying quantum geometry in loop quantum cosmology on spacetime curvature invariants and the extendibility of geodesics in the Bianchi-I model for matter with a vanishing anisotropic stress. Using the…
This introductory review is addressed to beginning researchers. Some of the distinguishing features of loop quantum gravity are illustrated through loop quantum cosmology of FRW models. In particular, these examples illustrate: i) how…
Within the framework of loop quantum cosmology, there exists a semi-classical regime where spacetime may be approximated in terms of a continuous manifold, but where the standard Friedmann equations of classical Einstein gravity receive…
We discuss the O(4) invariant perturbation modes of cosmological instantons. These modes are spatially homogeneous in Lorentzian spacetime and thus not relevant to density perturbations. But their properties are important in establishing…
A unified treatment of all known types of singularities for flat, isotropic and homogeneous spacetimes in the framework of loop quantum cosmology (LQC) is presented. These include bangs, crunches and all future singularities. Using…
In this paper, we will make an attempt to clarify the relation between three-dimensional euclidean loop quantum gravity with vanishing cosmological constant and quantum field theory in the continuum. We will argue, in particular, that in…
We discuss instantons on noncommutative four-dimensional Euclidean space. In commutative case one can consider instantons directly on Euclidean space, then we should restrict ourselves to the gauge fields that are gauge equivalent to the…
We solve for quantum Riemannian geometries on the finite lattice interval $\bullet-\bullet-\cdots-\bullet$ with $n$ nodes (the Dynkin graph of type $A_n$) and find that they are necessarily $q$-deformed with $q=e^{\imath\pi\over n+1}$. This…
In recent years, Loop Quantum Gravity has emerged as a solid candidate for a nonperturbative quantum theory of General Relativity. It is a background independent theory based on a description of the gravitational field in terms of…
A crucial problem in quantum cosmology is a careful analysis of the one-loop semiclassical approximation for the wave function of the universe, after an appropriate choice of mixed boundary conditions. The results for Euclidean quantum…
In this paper we address the meaning of states in loop quantum cosmology (LQC), in the context of loop quantum gravity. First, we introduce a rigorous formulation of an embedding proposed by Bojowald and Kastrup, of LQC states into loop…
The "improved dynamics" of loop quantum cosmology is extended to include anisotropies of the Bianchi I model. As in the isotropic case, a massless scalar field serves as a relational time parameter. However, the extension is non-trivial…
The instantonic approach for a $\phi^4$ model potential is reexamined in the asymptotic limit. The path integral of the system is derived in semiclassical approximation expanding the action around the classical background. It is shown that…
The very early universe is understood in terms of quantum field theories on curved spacetime, where the classical background spacetime is typically an FLRW cosmology and the quantum fields which propagate on it include gravitational waves…
We consider three-dimensional Einstein gravity in Euclidean signature with a finite boundary of torus topology endowed with an induced metric of fixed conformal class and a constant trace of extrinsic curvature $K$. For vanishing, positive,…
We perform a detailed study of the existence and the properties of O(4)-invariant instanton solutions in Einstein-scalar theory in the presence of flat potential barriers, i.e. barriers where the second derivative of the potential is small…