Selection rules in minisuperspace quantum cosmology (Q1585712)

Quantum cosmology is currently one of the very active fields of research in theoretical physics. Many brilliant minds have been at it and more so now. The paper under review deals in detail with the question of making suitable selection rules for the study of minisuperspace (mss) cosmologies of the quantum kind. The introduction provides a general description of the problems confronted in this regard. The main aim is to show, for extended gravity mss models, that the existence of Noether symmetry implies a subset of the solutions of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation, where the oscillating behavior is recovered. In the second section, the Noether symmetry approach is discussed and in the third section its application is dealt with. The next two sections comprise extensions to higher order theories. The final section contains discussions and conclusions. The paper is exhaustive and illuminative of several interesting aspects of quantum cosmology in the frame work of mss approximations. With the need and possibility for enlarging the scheme formulated here to more general classes of mss, a full field theory for cosmology is most welcome.