Function Of The Universe Research Articles

Bianchi type I, Schutz perfect fluid and evolutionary quantum cosmology

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 representation, in terms of which, after a particular gauge fixing, we are led to an identification of a clock parameter which may play the role of time for the corresponding dynamical system. In view of the classical cosmology, it is shown that the evolution of the universe represents a late time expansion coming from a big-bang singularity. We also consider the issue of quantum cosmology in the framework of the canonical Wheeler-DeWitt (WDW) equation. It is shown that the Schutz formalism leads to the introduction of a momentum that enters linearly into Hamiltonian. This means that the WDW equation takes the form of a Schr\"{o}dinger equation for the quantum-mechanical description of the model under consideration. We find the eigenfunctions and with the use of them construct the closed form expressions for the wave functions of the universe. By means of the resulting wave function we evaluate the expectation values and investigate the possibility of the avoidance of classical singularities due to quantum effects. We also look at the problem through Bohmian approach of quantum mechanics and while recovering the quantum solutions, we deal with the reason of the singularity avoidance by introducing quantum potential.

Wave function of the Universe and CMB fluctuations

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 than inverse Gaussian), for both types of wave function, when properly interpreted. However the suppression of non-Gaussianities and hence the recovery of the Bunch-Davies state is not transparent.

F(T) quantum cosmology

We quantize a flat cosmological model in the context of $f(T)$ theory of modified gravity using the Dirac's quantization approach for Hamiltonian constraint systems. In this regard, first we obtain the Wheeler-DeWitt equation as the operator equation of the Hamiltonian constraint and solve it for some typical cosmological models of $f(T)=T-2\Lambda$, $f(T)= \beta\sqrt{-2T}$ and $f(T)= \gamma T^2$. Then, in the context of classical-quantum correspondence, we interpret the obtained wavefunctions of the universe to describe an accelerating de Sitter universe which is found to be in good agreement with $f(T)=T-2\Lambda$ model. Finally, we study Bohm--de Broglie interpretation of the quantum model for $f(T)=T-2\Lambda$ model.

No-boundary proposal in biaxial Bianchi IX minisuperspace

We implement the no-boundary proposal for the wave function of the universe in an exactly solvable Bianchi IX minisuperspace model with two scale factors. We extend our earlier work (Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 081302, 2018 / arXiv:1804.01102) to include the contribution from the $\mathbb{C}\text{P}^2 \setminus B^4$ topology. The resulting wave function yields normalizable probabilities and thus fits into a predictive framework for semiclassical quantum cosmology. We find that the amplitude is low for large anisotropies. In the isotropic limit the usual Hartle-Hawking wave function for the de Sitter minisuperspace model is recovered. Inhomogeneous perturbations in an extended minisuperspace are shown to be initially in their ground state. We also demonstrate that the precise mathematical implementation of the no-boundary proposal as a functional integral in minisuperspace depends on detailed aspects of the model, including the choice of gauge-fixing. This shows in particular that the choice of contour cannot be fundamental, adding weight to the recent proposal that the semiclassical no-boundary wave function should be defined solely in terms of a collection of saddle points. We adopt this approach in most of this paper. Finally we show that the semiclassical tunneling wave function of the universe is essentially equal to the no-boundary state in this particular minisuperspace model, at least in the subset of the classical domain where the former is known.

Switching Internal Times and a New Perspective on the ‘Wave Function of the Universe’

Despite its importance in general relativity, a quantum notion of general covariance has not yet been established in quantum gravity and cosmology, where, given the a priori absence of coordinates, it is necessary to replace classical frames with dynamical quantum reference systems. As such, quantum general covariance bears on the ability to consistently switch between the descriptions of the same physics relative to arbitrary choices of quantum reference system. Recently, a systematic approach for such switches has been developed. It links the descriptions relative to different choices of quantum reference system, identified as the correspondingly reduced quantum theories, via the reference-system-neutral Dirac quantization, in analogy to coordinate changes on a manifold. In this work, we apply this method to a simple cosmological model to demonstrate how to consistently switch between different internal time choices in quantum cosmology. We substantiate the argument that the conjunction of Dirac and reduced quantized versions of the theory defines a complete relational quantum theory that not only admits a quantum general covariance, but, we argue, also suggests a new perspective on the ‘wave function of the universe’. It assumes the role of a perspective-neutral global state, without immediate physical interpretation that, however, encodes all the descriptions of the universe relative to all possible choices of reference system at once and constitutes the crucial link between these internal perspectives. While, for simplicity, we use the Wheeler-DeWitt formulation, the method and arguments might be also adaptable to loop quantum cosmology.

Editorial

Editorial

Stephen William Hawking CH CBE. 8 January 1942—14 March 2018

Stephen Hawking's contributions to the understanding of gravity, black holes and cosmology were truly immense. They began with the singularity theorems in the 1960s followed by his discovery that black holes have an entropy and consequently a finite temperature. Black holes were predicted to emit thermal radiation, what is now called Hawking radiation. He pioneered the study of primordial black holes and their potential role in cosmology. His organization of and contributions to the Nuffield Workshop in 1982 consolidated the picture that the large-scale structure of the universe originated as quantum fluctuations during the inflationary era. Work on the interplay between quantum mechanics and general relativity resulted in his formulation of the concept of the wavefunction of the universe. The tension between quantum mechanics and general relativity led to his struggles with the information paradox concerning deep connections between these fundamental areas of physics. These achievements were all accomplished following the diagnosis during the early years of Stephen's studies as a post-graduate student in Cambridge that he had incurable motor neuron disease—he was given two years to live. Against all the odds, he lived a further 55 years. The distinction of his work led to many honours and he became a major public figure, promoting with passion the needs of disabled people. His popular best-selling book, A brief history of time , made cosmology and his own work known to the general public world-wide. He became an icon for science and an inspiration to all.

Tunneling wave function of the universe. II. The backreaction problem

The tunneling wave function of the universe is calculated exactly for a de Sitter minisuperspace model with a massless conformally coupled scalar field, both by solving the Wheeler-DeWitt equation and by evaluating the Lorentzian path integral. The same wave function is found in both approaches. The back-reaction of quantum field fluctuations on the scale factor amounts to a constant renormalization of the vacuum energy density. This is in contrast to the recent suggestion of Feldbrugge $et$ $al.$ that the back-reaction should diverge when the scale factor gets small, $a \to 0$. Similar results are found for a massive scalar field in the limit of a large mass. We also verified that the tunneling wave function can be expressed as a transition amplitude from a universe of vanishing size with the scalar field in the state of Euclidean vacuum, as it was suggested in our earlier work.

The function of the universe manages the process of gravitation

The function of the universe manages the process of gravitation

What is the no-boundary wave function of the Universe?

We specify the semiclassical no-boundary wave function of the universe without relying on a functional integral of any kind. The wave function is given as a sum of specific saddle points of the dynamical theory that satisfy conditions of regularity on geometry and field and which together yield a time neutral state that is normalizable in an appropriate inner product. This specifies a predictive framework of semiclassical quantum cosmology that is adequate to make probabilistic predictions, which are in agreement with observations in simple models. The use of holography to go beyond the semiclassical approximation is briefly discussed.

Affine quantization of the Brans-Dicke theory: Smooth bouncing and the equivalence between the Einstein and Jordan frames

In this work, we present a complete analysis of the quantisation of the classical Brans-Dicke Theory using the method of affine quantisation in the Hamiltonian description of the theory. The affine quantisation method is based on the symmetry of the phase-space of the system, in this case the (positive) half-plane, that is identified with the affine group. We consider a FLRW-type spacetime, and since the scale factor is always positive, the affine method seems to be more suited than the canonincal quantisation for our Quantum Cosmology. We find the wave function of the Brans-Dicke universe, and its energy spectrum. A smooth bounce is expected at the semi-classical level in the quantum phase-space portrait. We also adress the problem of equivalence between the Jordan and Einstein frames.

Wheeler--DeWitt Universe Wave Function in the Presence of Stiff Matter

We study the Wheeler-DeWitt (WDW) equation close to the Big-Bang. We argue that an interaction dominated fluid (speed of sound equal to the speed of light), if present, would dominate during such an early phase. Such a fluid with $p=\rho\propto1/a^{6}$ generates a term in the potential of the wave function of the WDW equation proportional to $-1/a^{2}.\ $This very peculiar quantum potential, which embodies a spontaneous breaking of dilatation invariance, has some very remarkable consequences for the wave function of the Universe: $\Psi(a)$ vanishes at the Big-Bang: $\Psi(0)=0$; the wave function $\Psi(a)$ is always real; a superselection rule assures that the system is confined to $a\geq0$ without the need of imposing any additional artificial barrier for unphysical negative $a$. These results do not depend on the operator-ordering problem of the WDW equation.

Law of Creation and Grand Unification Theory

The understanding about the creation of our universe is explored in many philosophies, natural sciences, religions, ideologies, traditions and many other disciplines. Currently, natural science cannot answer this question at the most fundamental level. In this work, based on the ancient Chinese Tao wisdom about creation, we propose the Law of Tao Yin–Yang Creation. This law states that everything is created from emptiness through yin–yang interaction. Yin and yang are the two basic elements that make up everything. Yin and yang are opposite, relative, co-created, inseparable and co-dependent. The Law of Tao Yin–Yang Creation gives us a deeper insight about space and time. We propose that space and time are two basic measurements we conduct. Time relates to the measurement of movement and change. Space relates to the measurement of stillness and solidity. Space and time are a yin–yang pair. Interaction of two fundamental yin–yang pairs, the space and time yin–yang pair and the inclusion and exclusion duality pair, create our universe. We demonstrate that from this insight, one can derive string theory, superstring or M-theory and the universal wave function interpretation of string theory. We suggest that the Law of Tao Yin–Yang Creation presents the exact process how “it from bit” and it could be the fundamental principle leading to the grand unification theory and the theory of everything.

D = 1 Supergravity and Quantum Cosmology

Using a D = 1 supergravity framework I construct a super-Friedmann equation for an isotropic and homogenous universe including dynamical scalar fields. In the context of quantum theory this becomes an equation for a wave-function of the universe of spinorial type, the Wheeler-DeWitt- Dirac equation. It is argued that a cosmological constant breaks a certain chiral symmetry of this equation, a symmetry in the Hilbert space of universe states, which could protect a small cosmological constant from being affected by large quantum corrections.

No-boundary wave function for loop quantum cosmology

Proposing smooth initial conditions is one of the most important tasks in quantum cosmology. On the other hand, the low-energy effective action, appearing in the semiclassical path integral, can get nontrivial quantum corrections near classical singularities due to specific quantum gravity proposals. In this article, we combine the well-known no-boundary proposal for the wavefunction of the universe with quantum modifications coming from loop quantum cosmology (LQC). Remarkably, we find that the restriction of a `slow-roll' type potential in the original Hartle-Hawking proposal is considerably relaxed due to quantum geometry regularizations. Interestingly, the same effects responsible for singularity-resolution in LQC also end up expanding the allowed space of smooth initial conditions leading to an inflationary universe.

An Ontology of Nature with Local Causality, Parallel Lives, and Many Relative Worlds

Parallel Lives (PL) is an ontological model of nature in which quantum mechanics and special relativity are unified in a single universe with a single space-time. Point-like objects called lives are the only fundamental objects in this space-time, and they propagate at or below c, and interact with one another only locally at point-like events in space-time, very much like classical point particles. The only causes and effects in the universe occur when lives meet locally, and thus the causal structure of interaction events in space-time is Lorentz invariant. Each life traces a continuous world-line through space-time, and experiences its own relative world, fully defined by the outcomes of past events along its world-line (never superpositions), which are encoded in its external memory. A quantum field comprises a continuum of lives throughout space-time, and familiar physical systems like particles each comprise a sub-continuum of the lives of the field. Each life carries an internal memory containing a local relative wavefunction, which is a local piece of a pure universal wavefunction, but only the relative wavefunctions are physically real in PL, and not the universal wavefunction in configuration space. Furthermore, while the universal wavefunction tracks the average behavior of the lives of a system, it fails to track their individual dynamics and trajectories. There is always a preferred separable basis, and for an irreducible physical system, each orthogonal term in this basis is a different relative world - each containing some fraction of the lives of the system. The relative wavefunctions in the lives' internal memories govern which lives of different systems can meet during future local interactions, and thereby enforce entanglement correlations - including Bell inequality violations.

Tunneling wave function of the universe

The tunneling wave function of the universe is investigated in a minisuperspace framework of a de Sitter universe with a quantum scalar field, treated as a perturbation. We consider three different approaches to defining the tunneling wave function: (1) tunneling boundary conditions in superspace, (2) Lorentzian path integral, and (3) quantum tunneling from initial universe of a vanishing size. We show that the superspace approach requires Robin boundary conditions for the scalar field modes, the path integral approach requires adding an appropriate boundary term to the scalar field action, and the initial universe approach requires the initial quantum state of the scalar field to be Euclidean vacuum. We find that all three approaches yield identical wave functions and that scalar field fluctuations are well behaved, contrary to earlier claims in the literature.

Third Quantization and Emergence of the Quasiclassical Wave Function of the Universe

Quantized solutions of the Wheeler–DeWitt (WDW) equation describing a closed Friedmann–Robertson–Walker universe with a $$\Lambda $$ term and a set of massless scalar fields are studied. It is shown that when $$\Lambda \ll 1$$ units and the standard in-vacuum state is considered, the wave function of the universe $$\Psi $$ behaves as a random quasiclassical field at rather large a, namely, $$1 \ll a \ll {{e}^{{\frac{2}{{3\Lambda }}}}}$$ [1].

Quantum gravity, time, bounces, and matter

In the context of Quantum Cosmology and the Wheeler-DeWitt equation we investigate the possible effects of a non semiclassical wave-function of the universe on the evolution of the inflationary perturbations. These are associated with the quantum behaviour of the homogenous degrees of freedom (in particular the radius of the universe) in the early stages of the inflationary expansion, which in turn can affect the dynamics of the trans-Planckian modes of the fields present. The existence of a bounce for the homogeneous gravitational wave-function is studied. This can lead to an interference between a contracting and an expanding universe and, as a consequence, to the above quantum gravitational effects on the primordial spectra. In the traditional study of the inflationary fluctuations such effects are neglected and a quasi-classical behaviour for the homogeneous inflaton-gravity system is taken.

Is the Wheeler–DeWitt equation more fundamental than the Schrödinger equation?

The Wheeler–DeWitt equation was proposed 50 years ago and until now it is the cornerstone of most approaches to quantization of gravity. One can find in the literature, the opinion that the Wheeler–DeWitt equation is even more fundamental than the basic equation of quantum theory, the Schrödinger equation. We still should remember that we are in the situation when no observational data can confirm or reject the fundamental status of the Wheeler–DeWitt equation, so we can give just indirect arguments in favor of or against it, grounded on mathematical consistency and physical relevance. I shall present the analysis of the situation and comparison of the standard Wheeler–DeWitt approach with the extended phase space approach to quantization of gravity. In my analysis, I suppose, first, that a future quantum theory of gravity must be applicable to all phenomena from the early universe to quantum effects in strong gravitational fields, in the latter case, the state of the observer (the choice of a reference frame) may appear to be significant. Second, I suppose that the equation for the wave function of the universe must not be postulated but derived by means of a mathematically consistent procedure, which exists in path integral quantization. When applying this procedure to any gravitating system, one should take into account features of gravity, namely, nontrivial spacetime topology and possible absence of asymptotic states. The Schrödinger equation has been derived early for cosmological models with a finite number of degrees of freedom, and just recently it has been found for the spherically symmetric model which is a simplest model with an infinite number of degrees of freedom. The structure of the Schrödinger equation and its general solution appears to be very similar in these cases. The obtained results give grounds to say that the Schrödinger equation retains its fundamental meaning in constructing quantum theory of gravity.