Related papers: The Impact of Quantum Cosmology on Quantum Field T…
Quantum cosmology in general denotes the application of quantum physics to the whole universe and thus gives rise to many realizations and examples, covering problems at different mathematical and conceptual levels. It is related to quantum…
A crucial problem in quantum cosmology is a careful analysis of the one-loop semiclassical approximation for the wave function of the universe, after an appropriate choice of mixed boundary conditions. The results for Euclidean quantum…
We give an introduction into quantum cosmology with emphasis on its conceptual parts. After a general motivation we review the formalism of canonical quantum gravity on which discussions of quantum cosmology are usually based. We then…
Boundary conditions play a crucial role in the path-integral approach to quantum gravity and quantum cosmology, as well as in the current attempts to understand the one-loop semiclassical properties of quantum field theories. Within this…
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…
Quantum cosmology has traditionally been studied at the level of symmetry-reduced minisuperspace models, analyzing the behavior of wave functions. However, in the absence of a complete full setting of quantum gravity and detailed knowledge…
Zeta-function regularization is applied to complete a recent analysis of the quantized electromagnetic field in the presence of boundaries. The quantum theory is studied by setting to zero on the boundary the magnetic field, the…
Invited contribution to the Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics (2nd edition), providing an overview over some main ideas and results in quantum cosmology. Key points: Canonical quantisation of homogeneous, isotropic cosmology; discussion…
Two fundamental laws are needed for prediction in the universe: (1) a basic dynamical law and (2) a law for the cosmological initial condition. Quantum cosmology is the area of basic research concerned with the search for a theory of the…
The physics of quantum gravity is discussed within the framework of topological quantum field theory. Some of the principles are illustrated with examples taken from theories in which space-time is three dimensional.
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…
In quantum cosmology, one applies quantum physics to the whole universe. While no unique version and no completely well-defined theory is available yet, the framework gives rise to interesting conceptual, mathematical and physical…
This paper gives an elementary introduction to some of the conceptual problems of quantum cosmology. Contents: 1. Why quantum cosmology? 2. Time in quantum gravity 3.Decoherence and the recovery of the Schrodinger equation 4. The direction…
This paper studies the quantization of the electromagnetic field on a flat Euclidean background with boundaries. One-loop scaling factors are evaluated for the one-boundary and two-boundary backgrounds. The mode-by-mode analysis of…
In physical theories, boundary or initial conditions play the role of selecting special situations which can be described by a theory with its general laws. Cosmology has long been suspected to be different in that its fundamental theory…
The cosmological constant problem is one of the greatest challenges in contemporary physics, since it is deeply rooted in the problematic interplay between quantum fields and gravity. The aim of this work is to review the key conceptual…
We investigate quantum cosmological models in an n-dimensional anisotropic universe in the presence of a massless scalar field. Our basic inspiration comes from Chodos and Detweiler's classical model which predicts an interesting behaviour…
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…
The infinite dimensional generalization of the quantum mechanics of extended objects, namely, the quantum field theory of extended objects is employed to address the hitherto nonrenormalizable gravitational interaction following which the…
The Quantum Cosmology can be understand as the theory of an one object that is the Universe described in terms of fundamental mass groundstate of the free boson string, that is a tachyon - a hypothetical particle with negative mass square,…