Related papers: Loop Quantum Cosmology and Boundary Proposals
The Wheeler-DeWitt (WDW) equation is analyzed using two boundary proposals: the Hartle-Hawking no-boundary condition and tunneling condition. By compactifying the scale factor $a$ into $ x = a/(1+a) $, we reformulate the WDW equation to…
In recent years, Loop Quantum Gravity has emerged as a solid candidate for a nonperturbative quantum theory of General Relativity. It is a background independent theory based on a description of the gravitational field in terms of…
Loop Quantum Gravity is a background independent, nonperturbative approach to the quantization of General Relativity. Its application to models of interest in cosmology and astrophysics, known as Loop Quantum Cosmology, has led to new and…
Quantum gravity is expected to be necessary in order to understand situations where classical general relativity breaks down. In particular in cosmology one has to deal with initial singularities, i.e. the fact that the backward evolution…
Cosmology appears as the most promising way to test and constrain quantum gravity theories. Loop quantum gravity is among the most advanced attempts to perform a non-perturbative quantization of general relativity. Its cosmological…
The problem of finding the quantum theory of the gravitational field, and thus understanding what is quantum spacetime, is still open. One of the most active of the current approaches is loop quantum gravity. Loop quantum gravity is a…
Aspects of the full theory of loop quantum gravity can be studied in a simpler context by reducing to symmetric models like cosmological ones. This leads to several applications where loop effects play a significant role when one is…
Loop quantum cosmology is a conflicted field in which exuberant claims of observability coexist with serious objections against the conceptual and physical viability of its current formulations. This contribution presents a non-technical…
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…
The basic problem of quantum cosmology is the definition of the quantum state of the universe, with appropriate boundary conditions on Riemannian three-geometries. This paper describes recent progress in the corresponding analysis of…
When the universe is treated as a quantum system, it is described by a wave function. This wave function is a function not only of the matter fields, but also of spacetime. The no-boundary proposal is the idea that the wave function should…
The flat, homogeneous, and isotropic universe with a massless scalar field is a paradigmatic model in Loop Quantum Cosmology. In spite of the prominent role that the model has played in the development of this branch of physics, there still…
The goal of this article is to provide an overview of the current state of the art in loop quantum cosmology for three sets of audiences: young researchers interested in entering this area; the quantum gravity community in general; and,…
Loop quantum cosmology is a tentative approach to model the universe down to the Planck era where quantum gravity settings are needed. The quantization of the universe as a dynamical space-time is inspired by Loop Quantum Gravity ideas. In…
Quantum cosmology is the quantum theory of the entire universe. Although strange at first sight, it is appropriate because (1) our world appears to be fundamentally quantum, (2) the classical description of gravity breaks down at…
A brief review of the modern state of quantum cosmology is presented as a theory of quantum initial conditions for inflationary scenario. The no-boundary and tunneling states of the Universe are discussed as a possible source of probability…
One of the interesting open problems in the cosmological framework is applying quantum physics to the whole universe, consistently. Although different conceptual aspects of quantum cosmology are still very much alive, till now, all the…
DeWitt's suggestion that the wave function of the universe should vanish at the classical big-bang singularity is here considered within the framework of one-loop quantum cosmology. For pure gravity at one loop about a flat four-dimensional…
We consider a minisuperspace model for a closed universe with small and positive cosmological constant, filled with a massive scalar field conformally coupled to gravity. In the quantum version of this model, the universe may undergo a…
Despite its great successes in accounting for the current observations, the so called `standard' model of cosmology faces a number of fundamental unresolved questions. Paramount among these are those relating to the nature of the origin of…