Related papers: On measuring the Quantum Universe
Modern cosmological theory is based on the Friedmann--Robertson--Walker (FRW) metric. Often written in terms of co-moving coordinates, this well-known solution to Einstein's equations owes its elegant and highly practical formulation to the…
Quantum mechanics introduces the concept of probability at the fundamental level, yielding the measurement problem. On the other hand, recent progress in cosmology has led to the "multiverse" picture, in which our observed universe is only…
The 'collapse' of the wave function in a general measuring process is analyzed by a pure quantum mechanical (QM) approach. The problem of the delayed choice and Welcher-Weg (WW) experiments is analyzed for Mach-Zehnder (MZ) interferometer.…
There is a formal analogy between the evolution of the universe, when this is seen as a trajectory in the minisuperspace, and the worldline followed by a test particle in a curved spacetime. The analogy can be extended to the quantum realm,…
We make the cosmological constant, {\Lambda}, into a field and restrict the variations of the action with respect to it by causality. This creates an additional Einstein constraint equation. It restricts the solutions of the standard…
We consider the k=1 Friedman-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) model within loop quantum cosmology (LQC), from the perspective of the two available quantization prescriptions. We focus our attention on the existence of the so called `inverse…
The concept of smooth deformations of a Riemannian manifolds, recently evidenced by the solution of the Poincar\'e conjecture, is applied to Einstein's gravitational theory and in particular to the standard FLRW cosmology. We present a…
Two thought experiments are analyzed, revealing that the quantum state of the universe does not contain definitive evidence of the wavefunction collapse. The first thought experiment shows that unitary quantum evolution alone can account…
The space discreteness hypothesis asserts that the nature of space at short distances is radically different from that at large distances. Based on the Bronstein inequality, here, we use a totally disconnected topological space…
Based upon the holographic principle, Jacobson demonstrated that the spacetime can be viewed as a gas of atoms with a related entropy given by the Bekenstein-Hawking formula. Following this argument, Friedmann equations can be derived by…
This paper explores models of the FLRW universe that incorporate a time-varying cosmological term $\Lambda(t)$. Specifically, we assume a power-law form for the cosmological term as a function of the scale factor: $\Lambda(t)=\Lambda_{0}…
Inspired by Mott's (1929) analysis of particle tracks in a cloud chamber, we consider a simple model for quantum cosmology which includes, in the total Hamiltonian, model detectors registering whether or not the system, at any stage in its…
We study the classical and quantum cosmology of a universe in which the matter content is a perfect fluid and the background geometry is described by a Bianchi type I metric. To write the Hamiltonian of the perfect fluid we use the Schutz…
We seek an extension to Schrodinger's equation that incorporates the macroscopic measurement-induced wavefunction collapse phenomenon. We find that a suitable hybrid between two leading approaches, the Bohm-de Broglie pilot-wave and…
This paper discusses the problem of inflation in the context of Friedmann-Robertson-Walker Cosmology. We show how, after a simple change of variables, to quantize the problem in a way which parallels the classical discussion. The result is…
The topic of measurement in relativistic quantum field theory is addressed in this article. Some of the long standing problems of this subject are highlighted, including the incompatibility of an instantaneous ``collapse of the…
Recently it has been claimed that the Wheeler-DeWitt quantization of gravity is unable to avoid cosmological singularities. However, in order to make this assertion, one must specify the underlying interpretation of quantum mechanics which…
This work proposes more solutions for the Wheeler-DeWitt equation in a flat FLRW minisuperspace. We study quantum cosmology in the framework of the de Broglie-Bohm interpretation and investigate the quantum cosmological effects throughout…
The description of the universe evolving in time according to general relativity is given in comparison with the quantum description of the same universe in terms of semiclassical wave functions. The spacetime geometry is determined by the…
A theory is developed which attempts to reconcile the measurements of nonlocal quantum observables with special relativity and quantum mechanics. The collapse of a wave function, which coincides with a nonlocal measurement by some…