Related papers: Prediction in Quantum Cosmology
We investigate the idea that different interpretations of quantum mechanics can be seen as restrictions of the consistent (or decoherent) histories quantum mechanics of closed systems to particular classes of histories,together with the…
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 spin-statistics connection, quantum gravity and other physical considerations suggest that classical space-time topology is not an immutable attribute and can change in quantum physics. The implementation of topology change using…
The problem of time of quantum gravity has been argued to make canonical approaches unsatisfactory. In this article I study how it affects quantum cosmology and reach the same conclusion. The advantage of studying the cosmological case is…
In this thesis the Bohm-de Broglie interpretation of quantum mechanics is applied to canonical quantum gravity. It is shown that, irrespective of any regularization or choice of factor ordering of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation, the unique…
In this paper we present a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmological model conformally coupled to a massive scalar field where the WKB approximation fails to reproduce the exact solution to the Wheeler-DeWitt equation for large Universes. The…
The Hawking minisuperspace model (closed FRW geometry with a homogeneous massive scalar field) provides a fairly non-trivial testing ground for fundamental problems in quantum cosmology. We provide evidence that the Wheeler-DeWitt equation…
I make a review on the aplications of the Bohm-De Broglie interpretation of quantum mechanics to quantum cosmology. In the framework of minisuperspaces models, I show how quantum cosmological effects in Bohm's view can avoid the initial…
Using canonical quantization of a flat FRW cosmological model containing a real scalar field $\phi$ endowed with a scalar potential $V(\phi)$, we are able to obtain exact and semiclassical solutions of the so called Wheeler-DeWitt equation…
We show how quantum mechanics can be understood as a space-time theory provided that its spatial continuum is modelled by a variable real number (qrumber) continuum. Such a continuum can be constructed using only standard Hilbert space…
This paper is an application of the ideas of the Born-Oppenheimer (or slow/fast) approximation in molecular physics and of the Isaacson (or short-wave) approximation in classical gravity to the canonical quantization of a perturbed…
Quantum creation of Universes with compact spacelike sections that have curvature $k$ either closed, flat or open, i.e. $k=\pm1,0$ are studied. In the flat and open cases, the superpotential of the Wheeler De Witt equation is significantly…
For a FRW-spacetime coupled to an arbitrary real scalar field, we endow the solution space of the associated Wheeler-DeWitt equation with a Hilbert-space structure, construct the observables, and introduce the physical wave functions of the…
Quantum--mechanical operators corresponding to canonical momentum and position of a point--like particle, which follow from the quantum field theory in the general Riemannian space-time, satisfy generally to a deformation of the canonical…
We explore the extension of quantum cosmology outside the homogeneous approximation, using the formalism of loop quantum gravity. We introduce a model where some of the inhomogeneous degrees of freedom are present, providing a tool for…
Cosmology can be viewed as geodesic motion in an appropriate metric on an `augmented' target space; here we obtain these geodesics from an effective relativistic particle action. As an application, we find some exact (flat and curved)…
Severe methodological and numerical problems of the traditional quantum mechanical approach to the description of molecular systems are outlined. To overcome these, a simple alternative to the Born-Oppenheimer approximation is presented on…
It is well-known that the standard WKB approximation fails to provide semiclassical solutions in the vicinity of turning points. However, turning points arise in many cosmological scenarios. In a previous work, we obtained a new class of…
A pedagogical introduction is given to the quantum mechanics of closed systems, most generally the universe as a whole. Quantum mechanics aims at predicting the probabilities of alternative coarse-grained time histories of a closed system.…
The Wheeler -- DeWitt equation was proposed 50 years ago and until now it is the cornerstone of most approaches to quantization of gravity. One can find in the literature the opinion that the Wheeler -- DeWitt equation is even more…