Related papers: Quantum gravity and scale symmetry in cosmology
We propose an approach to explaining why naive large quantum fluctuations are not the right estimate for the cosmological constant. We argue that the universe is in a superposition of many vacua, in such a way that the resulting…
We study the Wheeler-DeWitt equation for a class of induced gravity models in the minisuperspace approximation. In such models a scalar field nonminimally coupled to gravity determines the effective Newton's constant. For simplicity our…
Quantum gravitational effects in loop quantum cosmology lead to a resolution of the initial singularity and have the potential to solve the horizon problem and generate a quasi scale-invariant spectrum of density fluctuations. We consider…
The purpose of this work is to investigate spatially homogeneous and flat cosmological solutions of the Einstein equations coupled to a non-variational ``near-minimal'' scalar field. This coupling model represents a minimal departure from…
In absence of matter Einstein gravity with a cosmological constant $\La$ can be formulated as a scale-free theory depending only on the dimensionless coupling constant G \Lambda where G is Newton constant. We derive the conformal field…
We derive the primordial power spectrum of density fluctuations in the framework of quantum cosmology. For this purpose we perform a Born-Oppenheimer approximation to the Wheeler-DeWitt equation for an inflationary universe with a scalar…
It is widely believed that as one of the candidates for dark energy, the cosmological constant should relate directly with the quantum vacuum. Despite decades of theoretical effects, however, there is still no quantitative interpretation of…
Assuming that Quantum Mechanics is universal and that it can be applied over all scales, then the Universe is allowed to be in a quantum superposition of states, where each of them can correspond to a different space-time geometry. How can…
We formulate a renormalizable quantum gravity in $2+\epsilon$ dimensions by generalizing the nonlinear sigma model approach to string theory. We find that the theory possesses the ultraviolet stable fixed point if the central charge of the…
We consider the gravity interacting with matter scalar fields and quantized in the minisuperspace approach in which the wave functional is described by the Wheeler-DeWitt equations (WdW). Assuming the domination of the homogeneous and…
The theory of cosmological fluctuations assumes that the pre-inflationary state of the universe was the quantum vacuum of a scalar field(s) coupled to gravity. The observed cosmic microwave background fluctuations are then interpreted as…
This paper invokes a new mechanism for reducing a coupled system of fields (including Einstein's equations without a cosmological constant) to equations that possess solutions exhibiting characteristics of immediate relevance to current…
Asymptotic Safety provides a mechanism for constructing a consistent and predictive quantum theory of gravity valid on all length scales. Its key ingredient is a non-Gaussian fixed point of the gravitational renormalization group flow which…
Scalar-tensor gravitational theories are important extensions of standard general relativity, which can explain both the initial inflationary evolution, as well as the late accelerating expansion of the Universe. In the present paper we…
An inhomogeneous (1+1)-dimensional model of the quantum gravity is considered. It is found, that this model corresponds to a string propagating against some curved background space. The quantization scheme including the Wheeler-DeWitt…
The fluctuations of the vacuum energy are treated as a non-equilibrium process and a stochastic model for the cosmological constant is presented, which yields a natural explanation for the smallness or zero value of the constant in the…
The value of the cosmological constant is explained in terms of a noisy diffusion of energy from the low energy particle physics degrees of freedom to the fundamental Planckian granularity which is expected from general arguments in quantum…
The Cosmological Constant Problem is re-examined from an effective field theory perspective. While the connection between gravity and particle physics has not been experimentally probed in the quantum regime, it is severely constrained by…
The scaling properties of quantum gravity are discussed by employing a class of proper-time regulators in the functional flow equation for the conformal factor within the formalism of the background field method. Renormalization group…
A version of the cosmological perturbation theory in general relativity (GR) is developed, where the cosmological scale factor is identified with spatial averaging of the metric determinant logarithm and the cosmic evolution acquires the…