Wave Functions for Arbitrary Operator Ordering in the de Sitter Minisuperspace Approximation

We derive exact series solutions for the Wheeler–DeWitt equation corresponding to a spatially closed Friedmann–Robertson–Walker universe with cosmological constant for arbitrary operator ordering of the scale factor of the universe. The resulting wave functions are those relevant to the approximation which has been widely used in two-dimensional minisuperspace models with an inflationary scalar field for the purpose of predicting the period of inflation which results from competing boundary condition proposals for the wave function of the universe. The problem that Vilenkin's tunneling wave function is not normalizable for general operator orderings, is shown to persist for other values of the spatial curvature, and when additional matter degrees of freedom such as radiation are included.     

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.

     

On the conformally coupled scalar field quantum cosmology

We propose a new initial condition for the homogeneous and isotropic quantum cosmology, where the source of the gravitational field is a conformally coupled scalar field, and the maximally symmetric hypersurfaces have positive curvature. After solving corresponding Wheeler–DeWitt equation, we obtain exact solutions in both classical and quantum levels. We propose appropriate initial condition for the wave packets which results in a complete classical and quantum correspondence. These wave packets closely follow the classical trajectories and peak on them. We also quantify this correspondence using de Broglie–Bohm interpretation of quantum mechanics. Using this proposal, the quantum potential vanishes along the Bohmian paths and the classical and Bohmian trajectories coincide with each other. We show that the model contains singularities even at the quantum level. Therefore, the resulting wave packets closely follow the classical trajectories from big-bang to big-crunch.     

An inhomogeneous toy model of the quantum gravity with the explicitly evolvable observables

An inhomogeneous (1? $+$ ?1)-dimensional model of the quantum gravity is considered. It is found, that this model corresponds to a string propagating in some curved background space. The quantization scheme including the Wheeler–DeWitt equation and the “particle on a sphere” type of the gauge condition is suggested. In the quantization scheme considered, the “problem of time” is resolved by building of the quasi-Heisenberg operators acting in a space of solutions of the Wheeler–DeWitt equation, and the normalization of the wave function corresponds to the Klein–Gordon type. To analyze the physical consequences of the scheme, a (1? $+$ ?1)-dimensional background space is considered for which a classical solution is found and quantized. The obtained estimations show the way to solution of the cosmological constant problem for this model. Such a solution consists in compensation of the zero-point oscillations of the matter fields by the quantum oscillations of the scale factor. Along with such a compensation, a slow global evolution of a background exists that corresponds to an universe expansion.     

Classical and quantum Hořava–Lifshitz cosmology in a minisuperspace perspective

We study the classical and quantum models of a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) cosmology in the framework of the gravity theory proposed by Ho?ava, the so-called Ho?ava–Lifshitz theory of gravity. Beginning with the ADM representation of the action corresponding to this model, we construct the Lagrangian in terms of the minisuperspace variables and show that in comparison with the usual Einstein-Hilbert gravity, there are some correction terms coming from the Ho?ava theory. Either in the matter free or in the case when the considered universe is filled with a perfect fluid, the exact solutions to the classical field equations are obtained for the flat, closed and open FRW model and some discussions about their possible singularities are presented. We then deal with the quantization of the model in the context of the Wheeler–DeWitt approach of quantum cosmology to find the cosmological wave function. We use the resulting wave functions to investigate the possibility of the avoidance of classical singularities due to quantum effects.     

Wave function with second order correction and inflationary solutions in quantum cosmology

A brief account for the higher order wave function in Hartle-Hawking (H-H) proposal is given which is compared with the tunneling wave function due to Vilenkin. The probability distributions are determined for both types of wave functions. Also a class of solutions are evaluated using H-H approach for Kantowski-Sachs metric with a scalar field and inflation is observed.     

Dilaton Quantum Cosmology with a Schrödinger-like Equation

A quantum cosmological model with radiation and a dilaton scalar field is analyzed. The Wheeler–DeWitt equation in the minisuperspace induces a Schrödinger equation, which can be solved. An explicit wavepacket is constructed for a particular choice of the ordering factor. A consistent solution is possible only when the scalar field is a phantom field. Moreover, although the wavepacket is time-dependent, a Bohmian analysis allows to extract a bouncing behavior for the scale factor.     

Integrable minisuperspace models with Liouville field: energy density self-adjointness and semiclassical wave packets

The homogeneous cosmological models with a Liouville scalar field are investigated in classical and quantum contexts of Wheeler–DeWitt geometrodynamics. In the quantum case of quintessence field with potential unbounded from below and phantom field, the energy density operators are not essentially self-adjoint, and self-adjoint extensions contain ambiguities. Therefore the same classical actions correspond to a family of distinct quantum models. For the phantom field the energy spectrum happens to be discrete. The probability conservation and appropriate classical limit can be achieved with a certain restriction of the functional class. The appropriately localized wave packets are studied numerically using the Schrödinger’s norm and a conserved Mostafazadeh’s norm introduced from techniques of pseudo-Hermitian quantum mechanics. These norms give a similar packet evolution that is confronted with analytical classical solutions.     

Wheeler–DeWitt Equation with a Screened-Coulomb Dilation Potential

Wheeler–DeWitt equation for anisotropically expanding homogeneous high-dimension spaces is approximately solved under a screened-coulomb dilation potential via an appropriate approximation. The wave function is reported in terms of the Jacobi polynomials and eigenvalues and eigenfunctions are reported via the Nikiforov–Uvarov technique.     

Quantum Cosmology in CGBD Theory

We apply the theory developed in quantum cosmology to a model of charged generalized Brans–Dicke gravity. This is a quantum model of gravitation interacting with a charged Brans–Dicke type scalar field which is considered in the Pauli frame. The Wheeler–DeWitt equation describing the evolution of the quantum Universe is solved in the semiclassical approximation by applying the WKB approximation. The wave function of the Universe is also obtained by applying both the Vilenkin-like and the Hartle–Hawking-like boundary conditions. We then make predictions from the wave functions and infer that the Vilenkin's boundary condition is more reasonable in the Brans–Dicke gravity models leading a large vacuum energy density at the beginning of the inflation.     

Conformally coupled scalar field solutions and the cosmological constant

Solutions are presented for a scalar field coupled conformally to Einstein gravity with a nonvanishing cosmological constant, in the case that the spacetime metric is spatially homogeneous and isotropic. Since the cosmological constant destroys the conformal invariance of the action, these solutions cannot be obtained by solving the flat space wave equation for the scalar field. It turns out that the metric is determined entirely by the cosmological constant, while the scalar field acquires an apparent mass squared which is proportional to the cosmological constant. It is conjectured that the cosmological constant in the universe at present may thus be disguised as the mass of some scalar field.     

New Exact Solution of Dirac-Coulomb Equation with Exact Boundary Condition

It usually writes the boundary condition of the wave equation in the Coulomb field as a rough form without considering the size of the atomic nucleus. The rough expression brings on that the solutions of the Klein-Gordon equation and the Dirac equation with the Coulomb potential are divergent at the origin of the coordinates, also the virtual energies, when the nuclear charges number Z>137, meaning the original solutions do not satisfy the conditions for determining solution. Any divergences of the wave functions also imply that the probability density of the meson or the electron would rapidly increase when they are closing to the atomic nucleus. What it predicts is not a truth that the atom in ground state would rapidly collapse to the neutron-like. We consider that the atomic nucleus has definite radius and write the exact boundary condition for the hydrogen and hydrogen-like atom, then newly solve the radial Dirac-Coulomb equation and obtain a new exact solution without any mathematical and physical difficulties. Unexpectedly, the K value constructed by Dirac is naturally written in the barrier width or the equivalent radius of the atomic nucleus in solving the Dirac equation with the exact boundary condition, and it is independent of the quantum energy. Without any divergent wave function and the virtual energies, we obtain a new formula of the energy levels that is different from the Dirac formula of the energy levels in the Coulomb field.     

No-boundary measure of the universe

We consider the no-boundary proposal for homogeneous isotropic closed universes with a cosmological constant and a scalar field with a quadratic potential. In the semiclassical limit, it predicts classical behavior at late times if the scalar field is large enough. The classical histories may be singular in the past or bounce at a finite radius. This probability measure selects inflationary histories but is biased towards small numbers of e-foldings N. However, to obtain the probability of our observations in our past light cone these probabilities should be multiplied by exp(3N). This volume weighting is similar to that in eternal inflation. In a landscape potential, it would predict that the Universe underwent a large amount of inflation and could have always been semiclassical.     

Exact solutions of the Wheeler–DeWitt equation and the Yamabe construction

Exact solutions of the Wheeler–DeWitt equation of the full theory of four dimensional gravity of Lorentzian signature are obtained. They are characterized by Schrödinger wavefunctionals having support on 3-metrics of constant spatial scalar curvature, and thus contain two full physical field degrees of freedom in accordance with the Yamabe construction. These solutions are moreover Gaussians of minimum uncertainty and they are naturally associated with a rigged Hilbert space. In addition, in the limit the regulator is removed, exact 3-dimensional diffeomorphism and local gauge invariance of the solutions are recovered.     

The relation among the hyperbolic-function-type exact solutions of nonlinear evolution equations

First, we investigate the solitary wave solutions of the Burgers equation and the KdV equation, which are obtained by using the hyperbolic function method. Then we present a theorem which will not only give us a clear relation among the hyperbolic-function-type exact solutions of nonlinear evolution equations, but also provide us an approach to construct new exact solutions in complex scalar field. Finally, we apply the theorem to the KdV–Burgers equation and obtain its new exact solutions.     

Cosmological perturbations and quantum fields in curved space

We identify the quantum theory of cosmological perturbations with the quantum field theory in curved spacetime with emphasis on its field concept. We materialize this idea by using a coherent state as a quantum analogue of a nontrivial classical field configuration. We present analytic results in a de Sitter universe for the massless and massive minimal free scalar fields. Some new features on the spectrum of perturbations are obtained for the massive case. We also show how such quantum field theories can be derived from quantum gravity using the semiclassical approximation. A physical degree of freedom is picked up from three scalar perturbations in the quantum gravity scalar system and its Schrödinger equation is derived. Peculiar features of quantum fields at imaginary time and its possible implications on boundary conditions for the wave function of the universe are also discussed.     

Schrödinger–Wheeler–DeWitt Equation in Chaplygin Gas FRW Cosmological Model

We present a Chaplygin gas Friedmann–Robertson–Walker quantum cosmological model. In this work the Schutz’s variational formalism is applied with positive, negative, and zero constant spatial curvature. In this approach the notion of time can be recovered. These give rise to Schrödinger–Wheeler–DeWitt equation for the scale factor. We use the eigenfunctions in order to construct wave packets for each case. We study the time dependent behavior of the expectation value of the scale factor, using the many-worlds interpretations of quantum mechanics.     

A Quantum Cosmological Bianchi I Model with Interacting Spinor and Scalar Fields

A Bianchi I model of the Universe filled with interacting nonlinear spinor and scalar fields is studied within quantum geometrodynamics. Three types of interaction are considered: gradient, Yukawa, and axion ones. For massless fermion fields, the variables in the Wheeler – de Witt equation will separate. The solution can be interpreted using a two-component perfect liquid. One component corresponds to a massless scalar field, while the other – to a nonlinear spinor field. The interaction between the spinor and scalar fields can lead to elimination of singularity of the wave function. There is a possibility of existence of a discrete spectrum of the quantum Universe, as well as tunneling from the region with a rigorous equation of state to the region of the de Sitter vacuum.     

Cosmological Wave Function and Wormhole Wave Function with a Conformal Complex Scalar Field

Quantum cosmology and the quantum wormhole witha conformal complex scalar field are discussed, thecorresponding Wheeler-DeWitt equations are obtained, andthe cosmological wave functions and wormhole wave functions are calculated, respectively,with different boundary conditions. From thecosmological wave function it is found that theprobability density of the universe is zero at a = 0,while at the ground state the most probable radius is aboutthe Planck scale. It is also shown that there exist twodifferent types of universes, which can be connected bythe quantum tunneling effect, transiting from one region to another. It follows from thewormhole wave function that the most probable radius ofthe wormholes is about the Planck scale, which impliesthat the wormhole is steady due to the quantumeffect.