Related papers: Consistent Evaluation of the No-Boundary Proposal
The gravitational path integral suggests a striking result: the Hilbert space of closed universes in each superselection sector, a so-called $\alpha$-sector, is one-dimensional. We develop an abstract formalism encapsulating recent…
General relativity has a Hamiltonian formulation, which formally provides a canonical (Liouville) measure on the space of solutions. In ordinary statistical physics, the Liouville measure is used to compute probabilities of macrostates, and…
In this paper, we delve into the gravitational path integral of Gauss-Bonnet gravity in four spacetime dimensions, in the mini-superspace approximation. Our primary focus lies in investigating the transition amplitude between distinct…
One of the leading ideas for the beginning of the Universe is the Hartle-Hawking `No-Boundary Proposal.' Since the Cobordism Conjecture claims that any spacetime allows for a dynamical boundary, we suggest that one may equally well consider…
In the framework of the Hartle-Hawking no-boundary proposal, we investigate quantum creation of the multidimensional universe with the cosmological constant $\Lambda$ but without matter fields. In this paper we solved the Wheeler-de Witt…
We directly evaluate the probability amplitudes in Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) gravity using the Lorentzian path integral formulation. By imposing boundary conditions on the scale factor and the dilaton field, the Lorentzian path integral…
We investigate the no-boundary measure in the context of moduli stabilization. To this end, we first show that for exponential potentials, there are no classical histories once the slope exceeds a critical value. We also investigate the…
The gravitational path-integral of Gauss-Bonnet gravity is investigated and the transition from one spacelike boundary configuration to another is analyzed. Of particular interest is the case of Neumann and Robin boundary conditions which…
One of the main interest in quantum cosmology is to determine boundary conditions for the wave function of the universe which can predict observational data of our universe. For this purpose, we solve the Wheeler-DeWitt equation for a…
We review some recent results concerning the Hartle--Hawking wavefunction of the universe. We focus on pure Einstein theory of gravity in the presence of a positive cosmological constant. We carefully implement the gauge-fixing procedure…
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…
Recent works have suggested that the no-boundary proposal should be defined as a sum over regular, not necessarily compact, metrics. We show that such a prescription can be implemented in the presence of a scalar field. For concreteness, we…
In quantum cosmology, one often considers tunneling phenomena which may have occurred in the early universe. Processes requiring quantum penetration of a potential barrier include black hole pair creation and the decay of vacuum domain…
We present a theory of tunnelling geometries originating from the no-boundary quantum state of Hartle and Hawking. We reformulate the no-boundary wavefunction in the representation of true physical variables and calculate it in the one-loop…
After reviewing the general ideas of quantum cosmology (Wheeler-DeWitt equation, boundary conditions, interpretation of $\psi$), I discuss how these ideas can be tested observationally. Observational predictions differ for different choices…
A straightforward gravitational path integral calculation implies that closed universes are trivial, described by a one dimensional Hilbert space. Two recent papers by Harlow-Usatyuk-Zhao and Abdalla-Antonini-Iliesiu-Levine have sought to…
We identify a fundamental obstruction to any theory of the beginning of the universe, formulated as a semiclassical path integral. Hartle and Hawking's no boundary proposal and Vilenkin's tunneling proposal are examples of such theories.…
In this essay I describe some new results of a framework for composite gravity coupled to matter. These include the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy formula, modifications to the low-$\ell$ moments of the CMB power spectrum, and new perspectives…
To investigate the cosmic no hair conjecture, we analyze numerically 1-dimensional plane symmetrical inhomogeneities due to gravitational waves in vacuum spacetimes with a positive cosmological constant. Assuming periodic gravitational…
We study closed universes in holographic theories of quantum gravity. We argue that within any fixed theory, factorization implies there is one unique closed universe state. The wave function of any state that can be prepared by the path…