Related papers: Big Crunch Avoidance in k = 1 Semi-Classical Loop …
Recently the mechanism was found which allows avoidance of the cosmological singularity within the semi-classical formulation of Loop Quantum Gravity. Numerical studies show that the presence of self-interaction potential of the scalar…
Loop quantum cosmology predicts that, in simple models, the big bang singularity of classical general relativity is replaced by a quantum bounce. Because of the extreme physical conditions near the bounce, a natural question is whether the…
It is shown that the cosmological singularity in isotropic minisuperspaces is naturally removed by quantum geometry. Already at the kinematical level, this is indicated by the fact that the inverse scale factor is represented by a bounded…
In Loop Quantum Gravity mathematically rigorous models of full quantum gravity were proposed. In this paper we study a cosmological sector of one of the models describing quantum gravity with positive cosmological constant coupled to…
We derive the cosmological Big Bounce scenario from the dipole approximation of Loop Quantum Gravity. We show that a non-singular evolution takes place for any matter field and that, by considering a massless scalar field as a relational…
General relativity predicts a singularity in the beginning of the universe being called big bang. Recent developments in loop quantum cosmology avoid the singularity and the big bang is replaced by a big bounce. A classical theory of…
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…
Within the framework of loop quantum cosmology, there exists a semi-classical regime where spacetime may be approximated in terms of a continuous manifold, but where the standard Friedmann equations of classical Einstein gravity receive…
It is generally expected that in a non-singular cosmological model a cyclic evolution is straightforward to obtain on introduction of a suitable choice of a scalar field with a negative potential or a negative cosmological constant which…
Loop quantum cosmology is an application of recent developments for a non-perturbative and background independent quantization of gravity to a cosmological setting. Characteristic properties of the quantization such as discreteness of…
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…
Semiclassical states in isotropic loop quantum cosmology are employed to show that the improved dynamics has the correct classical limit. The effective Hamiltonian for the quantum cosmological model with a massless scalar field is thus…
We explore simple but novel bouncing solutions of general relativity that avoid singularities. These solutions require curvature k=+1, and are supported by a negative cosmological term and matter with -1 < w < -1/3. In the case of moderate…
We discuss the way non-perturbative quantization of cosmological spacetimes in loop quantum cosmology provides insights on the physics of Planck scale and the resolution of big bang singularity. In recent years, rigorous examination of…
The big bang singularity could be understood as a breakdown of Einstein's General Relativity at very high energies. Adopting this viewpoint, other theories, that implement Einstein Cosmology at high energies, might solve the problem of the…
The expansion of our universe, when followed backward in time, implies that it emerged from a phase of huge density, the big bang. These stages are so extreme that classical general relativity combined with matter theories is not able to…
Loop quantum gravity is believed to eliminate singularities such as the big bang and big crunch singularity. This belief is based on studies of so-called loop quantum cosmology which concerns symmetry-reduced models of quantum gravity. In…
Loop quantum cosmology homogeneous models with a massless scalar field show that the big-bang singularity can be replaced by a big quantum bounce. To gain further insight on the nature of this bounce, we study the semi-discrete loop quantum…
The occurrence of singularities where spacetime curvature becomes infinite and geodesic evolution breaks down are inevitable events in classical general relativity (GR) unless one chooses an exotic matter violating weak energy condition.…
We show that simple scalar field models can give rise to curvature singularities in the effective Friedmann dynamics of Loop Quantum Cosmology (LQC). We find singular solutions for spatially flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmologies with…