Chaplygin gas quantum universe in the presence of the cosmological constant

We present a Chaplygin gas Friedmann-Robertson-Walker quantum cosmological model in the presence of the cosmological constant. We apply the Schutz’s variational formalism to recover the notion of time, and this gives rise to Wheeler-DeWitt equation for the scale factor. We study the early and late time universes and show that the presence of the Chaplygin gas leads to an effective positive cosmological constant for the late times. This suggests the possibility of changing the sign of the effective cosmological constant during the transition from the early times to the late times. For the case of an effective negative cosmological constant for both epoches, we solve the resulting Wheeler-DeWitt equation using the Spectral Method and find the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions for positive, zero, and negative constant spatial curvatures. Then, we use the eigenfunctions in order to construct wave packets for each case and obtain the time-dependent expectation value of the scale factors, which are found to oscillate between finite maximum and minimum values. Since the expectation value of the scale factors never tend to the singular point, we have an initial indication that this model may not have singularities at the quantum level.     

A quantum cosmological model based on Einstein's universe

The conformal factor and a massless scalar field are quantized on Einstein background spacetime. A singularity-free cosmological model is obtained and discussed.     

A constraint on physical quantum states in cosmological space-times

The problem of constructing the Hilbert space of physical states for a free scalar quantum field propagating on a cosmological background is considered. The concept of energy-momentum for such a field is discussed and it is noted that, according to current renormalization theory, for a state ¦M to have finite energy density its associated anticommutator function must be of a particular form first discussed by Hadamard. This restriction is shown to lead to a constraint on the construction of the Hilbert space of physical states. This constraint is used to reject a recently proposed scheme for the construction of this space which was based on a principle of energy minimization.This essay received an honourable mention from the Gravity Research Foundation for the year 1984.-Ed.     

On the theory of quasistationary states

Under the assumption of an exponential law of decay of quasistationary states, an integral equation is obtained for the wave function ⁺ of a quasistationary state together with an expression for the energy shift E. These are used to obtain an expression for the decay probability and an optical theorem for quasistationary states and also the connection between the decay amplitude and the amplitude of resonance scattering.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 9, pp. 43–46, September, 1974.     

Interaction of phonons with quasistationary states

Decay of the states via this interaction is considered. The line width in ferromagnetic resonance as a function of temperature is calculated in the spin-wave approximation, and the results are compared with experiment.I am indebted to L. N. Ovander for direct!on in this work and for valuable advice.     

Stochastic evolution of cosmological parameters in the early universe

We develop a stochastic formulation of cosmology in the early universe, after considering the scatter in the redshift-apparent magnitude diagram in the early epochs as an observational evidence for the non-deterministic evolution of early universe. We consider the stochastic evolution of density parameter in the early universe after the inflationary phase qualitatively, under the assumption of fluctuating w factor in the equation of state, in the Fokker-Planck formalism. Since the scale factor for the universe depends on the energy density, from the coupled Friedmann equations we calculated the two variable probability distribution function assuming a flat space geometry.     

Particle creation in a cosmological anisotropic universe

We analyze the phenomenon of particle creation in a cosmological anisotropic universe. We compute, via the Bogoliubov transformations, the density number of scalar and spin-1/2 particles created. We obtain that they are respectively described by Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac distributions.     

Zeldovich's regularization method in the theory of quasistationary states

The complex quasienergy, including the level width Γ, is calculated for a loosely bound atomic state in an intense monochromatic laser field of circular polarization. The method proposed by Zeldovich for regularizing divergent integrals that involve the Gamow wave function is employed in this calculation. The convergence of the method is demonstrated, and the conditions of its applicability are indicated.     

Single-particle quasistationary states in spherical and deformed nuclei

A method is presented for investigation of single-particle quasistationary states of spherical and deformed nuclei in the sub-barrier energy region. The wave functions and energy levels of quasistationary sates are found as eigensolutions of the Schrödinger equation using a continuous analog of the Newton method. The formalism and the numerical results are compared to those of other methods of treating potential resonances.     

The expansion of the universe and the cosmological constant problem

The discovery that the expansion of the universe is accelerating in time is a major discovery which still awaits adequate explanation. It is generally agreed that this implies a cosmic repulsion as a result of the existence of a cosmological constant ∧>0. However, estimates of ∧, based on calculations of the zero-point fluctuations of quantum fields are too large by over a hundred orders of magnitude. This result is obtained by summing the zero-point energies up to a large cutoff energy Ω, based on the Planck scale. Since there is no compelling reason for this choice, we argue that since all known quantum electrodynamic (QED) effects involves interaction with matter, a preferred choice should be based on causality and other considerations, leading to a much lower value for ∧.     

Effective cosmological constant within the expanding axion universe

We show that the value of an effective cosmological constant, _Λeff${\Lambda }_{\mathit{eff}}$, is influenced by the dimensionality of the space. Results were obtained in the framework of the axion model describing expansion of the inhomogeneous universe. _Λeff${\Lambda }_{\mathit{eff}}$ determines the tension of the space (i.e. elasticity), and is relaxed when extra dimensions are accessible. We demonstrate that the effective value of the cosmological constant may be tuned to be consistent with experimental observation. Inhomogeneities considered are representative of temperature fluctuations observed within the cosmic microwave background radiation.     

WKB approach to calculating the lifetime of quasistationary states

A novel WKB approach to calculating the lifetime of quasistationary states in the potential wells of the form V(x)=P(x)-muQ(x), where P(x) is the radial part of the potential for the spherically symmetric harmonic oscillator or the hydrogen atom and Q(x) is a polynomial, is suggested. In this approach, the usual explicit procedure of the asymptotic matching of the perturbative and WKB wave functions is avoided and a simple formula for the imaginary part of the energy is found. The leading and the first correction terms for the imaginary part of the energy and the related lifetime are analytically calculated.     

Vacuum cosmological solution in a 6D universe

A simple vacuum cosmological solution that is a function ofct, Gm/c ² andeG ^1/2/C² is obtained in the 6D space-time-mass-charge universe which is proposed by Wesson [1] with the introduction of the sixth coordinate of charge in order to obtain a unified theory of gravity and electromagnetism along the line of his original 5D space-time-mass universe [2]. It reduces to a similar solution to that of the radiation era in the 4D FRW universe through the compactifications of the extra dimensions. The trajectory of a test particle in the 6D universe is also studied by using the solution.     

Geometry of the quantum universe

A quantum universe with the global shape of a (Euclidean) de Sitter spacetime appears as dynamically generated background geometry in the causal dynamical triangulation (CDT) regularisation of quantum gravity. We investigate the micro- and macro-geometry of this universe, using geodesic shell decompositions of spacetime. More specifically, we focus on evidence of fractality and global anisotropy, and on how they depend on the bare coupling constants of the theory.     

Doubling of states, quantum anomalies, and possible cosmological consequences in the continuum limit of the theory of discrete quantum gravity

The problem of the doubling of states is investigated in the framework of the theory of discrete quantum gravity under the assumption that the theory has a continuum (macroscopic) limit. It is demonstrated that irregular (in some sense) modes of fields (i.e., modes that change abruptly on scales of a lattice step and have a finite energy when the lattice step tends to zero) are separated from the normal modes. Some cosmological consequences of this finding are discussed.