Related papers: Quantum resolution of the cosmological singularity…
We consider gravity theory with varying speed of light and varying gravitational constant. Both constants are represented by non-minimally coupled scalar fields. We examine the cosmological evolution in the near curvature singularity…
We illustrate the crucial role played by decoherence (consistency of quantum histories) in extracting consistent quantum probabilities for alternative histories in quantum cosmology. Specifically, within a Wheeler-DeWitt quantization of a…
The dynamics of an M-dimensional extended object whose M+1 dimensional world volume in M+2 dimensional space-time has vanishing mean curvature is formulated in term of geometrical variables (the first and second fundamental form of the…
In order to study quantum dynamics of the FRW-universe of closed type, definitions of velocity, Hubble function and duration of the evolved universe are introduced into cosmology. The proposed definitions are characterized by high stability…
Three of the big puzzles of theoretical physics are the following: (i) There is apparently no time evolution in the dynamics of quantum general relativity, because the allowed quantum states must obey the Hamiltonian constraint. (ii) During…
Quantum gravity may remove classical space-time singularities and thus reveal what a universe at and before the big bang could be like. In loop quantum cosmology, an exactly solvable model is available which allows one to address precise…
This paper examines two cosmological models of quantum gravity (from string theory and loop quantum gravity) to investigate the foundational and conceptual issues arising from quantum treatments of the big bang. While the classical…
In loop quantum cosmology, non-perturbative quantum gravity effects lead to the resolution of the big bang singularity by a quantum bounce without introducing any new degrees of freedom. Though fundamentally discrete, the theory admits a…
We present exact quantum solutions for a noncommutative, multidimensional cosmological model and show that stabilization of extra dimensions sets in with the introduction of noncommutativity between the scale factors. An interpretation is…
General Relativity traces the evolution of our Universe back to a Big Bang singularity. To probe physics before the singularity -- if indeed there is a ``before'' -- we must turn to quantum gravity. The Causal Set approach to quantum…
We consider quantization of the positive curvature Friedmann cosmology in the unimodular modification of Einstein's theory, in which the spacetime four-volume appears as an explicit time variable. The Hamiltonian admits self-adjoint…
We show that the quantization ambiguities of loop quantum cosmology, when considered in wider generality, can be used to produce discretionary dynamical behavior. There is an infinite dimensional space of ambiguities which parallels the…
It is shown that there are static spacetimes with timelike curvature singularities which appear completely nonsingular when probed with quantum test particles. Examples include extreme dilatonic black holes and the fundamental string…
The problem of time and the quantization of three dimensional gravity in the strong coupling regime is studied following path integral methods. The time is identified with the volume of spacetime. We show that the effective action describes…
We show that a class of 3+1 dimensional Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmologies can be embedded within a variety of solutions of string theory. In some realizations the apparent singularities associated with the big bang or big crunch are…
We derive the equations of motion for scalar metric perturbations in a particular nonsingular bouncing cosmology, where the big bang singularity is replaced by a spacetime defect with a degenerate metric. The adiabatic perturbation solution…
We completely classify Friedmann-Lema\^{i}tre-Robertson-Walker solutions with spatial curvature $K=0,\pm 1$ and equation of state $p=w\rho$, according to their conformal structure, singularities and trapping horizons. We do not assume any…
A free scalar field minimally coupled to gravity model is quantized and the Wheeler-DeWitt equation in minisuperspace is solved analytically, exhibiting positive and negative frequency modes. The analysis is performed for positive, negative…
Bouncing cosmologies are often proposed as alternatives to standard inflation for the explanation of the homogeneity and flatness of the universe. In such scenarios, the present cosmological expansion is preceded by a contraction phase.…
We present exact non-singular bounce solutions of general relativity in the presence of a positive cosmological constant and an electromagnetic field, without any exotic matter. The solutions are distinguished by being spatially…