Related papers: Large Universe as the initial condition for a Coll…
We consider the Hartle-Hawking wavefunction of the universe defined as a Euclidean path integral that satisfies the "no-boundary proposal." We focus on the simplest minisuperspace model that comprises a single scale factor degree of freedom…
In an attempt to merge the microscopic with the macroscopic worlds, we present a brief study about a force which depends on the Planck force and on the coupling constant that in turn depends on the size of a particle in a particular…
We examine the fractal structure of the physical universe from the large scale to the smallest scale, including the phenomenon of fractal scaling. This is explained in terms of a stochastic underpinning for the laws of physics. A picture in…
We develop a quantum-cosmological framework in which the inflationary potential emerges from the structure of the wave function of the universe rather than being postulated. Starting from the Wheeler-DeWitt equation for a flat…
The lack of correlations at the long-wavelength scales of the cosmic microwave background spectrum is a long-standing puzzle and it persists in the latest Planck data. By considering the Hartle-Hawking no-boundary wave function as the…
We examine the behaviour of a closed oscillating universe filled with a homogeneous scalar field and find that, contrary to naive expectations, such a universe expands to larger volumes during successive expansion epochs. This intriguing…
Given the observed cosmic acceleration, Leonard Susskind has presented the following argument against the Hartle-Hawking no-boundary proposal for the quantum state of the universe: It should most likely lead to a nearly empty large de…
We demonstrate in the context of the minisuperspace model consisting of a closed Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe coupled to a scalar field that Vilenkin's tunneling wavefunction can only be consistently defined for particular choices of…
We investigate the general properties of expanding cosmological models which generate scale-invariant curvature perturbations in the presence of a variable speed of sound. We show that in an expanding universe, generation of a super-Hubble,…
The Hartle-Hawking and Tunneling (Vilenkin) wave functions are treated in the Hamiltonian formalism. We find that the leading (i.e. quadratic) terms in the fluctuations around a maximally symmetric background, are indeed Gaussian (rather…
The effect of the scalar spectral index on inflationary super-Hubble waves is to amplify/damp large wavelengths according to whether the spectrum is red ($n_{s}<1$) or blue ($n_{s}>1$). As a consequence, the large-scale temperature…
A macroscopic universe may emerge naturally from a Planck cell fluctuation by unfolding through a stage of exponential expansion towards a homogeneous cosmological background. Such primordial inflation requires a large and presumably…
A complete model of the universe needs at least three parts: (1) a complete set of physical variables and dynamical laws for them, (2) the correct solution of the dynamical laws, and (3) the connection with conscious experience. In quantum…
It is argued that Hawking's `greatest mistake' may not have been a mistake at all. According to the canonical quantum theory of gravity for Friedmann type universes, any time arrows of general nature can only be correlated with that of the…
Quantum cosmology uses a wave function to model the universe, but finding solutions for this poses a problem as it is difficult to define the boundary conditions or identify the correct path for a path integral. We begin the discussion by…
Penrose proposed that the big bang singularity should be constrained by requiring that the Weyl curvature vanishes there. The idea behind this past hypothesis is attractive because it constrains the initial conditions for the universe in…
We suggest that the "Big Bang" may be a result of the first-order phase transition driven by changing scalar curvature of the 4D space-time in expanding cold Universe, filled with nonlinear scalar field $\phi $ and neutral matter with…
Assuming the space dimension is not constant, but varies with the expansion of the Universe, a Lagrangian formulation for a toy model Universe is given. There is a free paremeter in the theory, $C$, with which we can fix the dimension of…
In the Big Rip cosmological scenario, a FRW universe containing dark energy with $w < -1$ in its equation of state (phantom energy) expands in such way that, in a finite time span, the scale factor diverges to infinity and the size of the…
There is an apparent power deficit relative to the Lambda-CDM prediction of the CMB spectrum at large scales, which, though not yet statistically significant, persists from WMAP to Planck data. We first present a simple toy model…