Related papers: Lorentzian quantum cosmology goes simplicial
Three-dimensional Lorentzian quantum gravity, expressed as the continuum limit of a nonperturbative sum over spacetimes, is tantalizingly close to being amenable to analytical methods, and some of its properties have been described in terms…
We consider the generalisation of quantum tunneling transitions in the WKB approximation to the time-independent functional Schr\"odinger and Wheeler-DeWitt equations. Following a Lorentzian approach, we compute the transition rates among…
A quantum model of universe is constructed in which values of dimensionless coupling constants of the fundamental interactions (including the cosmological constant) are determined via certain topological invariants of manifolds forming…
We study the global structure of Lorentzian manifolds with partial sectional curvature bounds. In particular, we prove completeness theorems for homogeneous and isotropic cosmologies as well as static spherically symmetric spacetimes. The…
The development of dark energy models has stimulated interest to cosmological singularities, which differ from the traditional Big Bang and Big Crunch singularities. We review a broad class of phenomena connected with soft cosmological…
This paper examines the behaviour of closed `lattice universes' wherein masses are distributed in a regular lattice on the Cauchy surfaces of closed vacuum universes. Such universes are approximated using a form of Regge calculus originally…
In Regge calculus space time is usually approximated by a triangulation with flat simplices. We present a formulation using simplices with constant sectional curvature adjusted to the presence of a cosmological constant. As we will show…
We formulate a discretization of sigma models suitable for simulation by quantum computers. Space is substituted by a lattice, as usually done in lattice field theory, while the target space (a sphere) is replaced by the "fuzzy sphere", a…
We study homogeneous cosmological models in formulations of general relativity with cosmological constant based on a (complexified) connection rather than a spacetime metric, in particular in a first order theory obtained by integrating out…
To solve the path integral for quantum gravity, one needs to regularise the space-times that are summed over. This regularisation usually is a discretisation, which makes it necessary to give up some paradigms or symmetries of continuum…
The semi-classical approach to the quantum geometrodynamical model is used for the description of the properties of the universe on extremely small spacetime scales. Quantum theory for a homogeneous, isotropic and closed universe is…
The model of Lorentzian three-dimensional dynamical triangulations provides a non-perturbative definition of three-dimensional quantum gravity. The theory has two phases: a weak-coupling phase with quantum fluctuations around a…
Starting from the canonical phase space for discretised (4d) BF-theory, we implement a canonical version of the simplicity constraints and construct phase spaces for simplicial geometries. Our construction allows us to study the connection…
We investigate a discrete model consisting of self-propelled particles that obey simple interaction rules. We show that this model can self-organize and exhibit coherent localized solutions in one- and in two-dimensions.In one-dimension,…
We propose a formulation of a Lorentzian quantum geometry based on the framework of causal fermion systems. After giving the general definition of causal fermion systems, we deduce space-time as a topological space with an underlying causal…
With toy modelling of conceptual aspects of quantum cosmology and the problem of time in quantum gravity in mind, I study the classical and quantum dynamics of the pure-shape (i.e. scale-free) triangle formed by 3 particles in 2-d. I do so…
Isotropic models in loop quantum cosmology allow explicit calculations, thanks largely to a completely known volume spectrum, which is exploited in order to write down the evolution equation in a discrete internal time. Because of genuinely…
This thesis is concerned with global properties of those cosmological solutions of Einstein's field equations which obey accelerated expansion into the future driven by a non-vanishing cosmological constant, as suggested by current…
We study the one-loop partition function of 3D gravity without cosmological constant on the solid torus with arbitrary metric fluctuations on the boundary. To this end we employ the discrete approach of (quantum) Regge calculus. In contrast…
We formulate a non-perturbative lattice model of two-dimensional Lorentzian quantum gravity by performing the path integral over geometries with a causal structure. The model can be solved exactly at the discretized level. Its continuum…