Dynamical eigenfunctions and critical density in loop quantum cosmology

DOI10.1088/0264-9381/30/3/035010zbMATH Open1266.83176arXiv1207.5601OpenAlexW3101063112MaRDI QIDQ4920149FDOQ4920149

Authors: David A. Craig 

Publication date: 16 May 2013

Published in: Classical and Quantum Gravity (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We offer a new, physically transparent argument for the existence of the critical, universal maximum matter density in loop quantum cosmology for the case of a flat Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker cosmology with scalar matter. The argument is based on the existence of a sharp exponential ultraviolet cutoff in momentum space on the eigenfunctions of the quantum cosmological dynamical evolution operator (the gravitational part of the Hamiltonian constraint), attributable to the fundamental discreteness of spatial volume in loop quantum cosmology. The existence of the cutoff is proved directly from recently found exact solutions for the eigenfunctions for this model. As a consequence, the operators corresponding to the momentum of the scalar field and the spatial volume approximately commute. The ultraviolet cutoff then implies that the scalar momentum, though not a bounded operator, is in effect bounded on subspaces of constant volume, leading to the upper bound on the expectation value of the matter density. The maximum matter density is universal (i.e. independent of the quantum state) because of the linear scaling of the cutoff with volume. These heuristic arguments are supplemented by a new proof in the volume representation of the existence of the maximum matter density. The techniques employed to demonstrate the existence of the cutoff also allow us to extract the large volume limit of the exact eigenfunctions, confirming earlier numerical and analytical work showing that the eigenfunctions approach superpositions of the eigenfunctions of the Wheeler-DeWitt quantization of the same model. We argue that generic (not just semiclassical) quantum states approach symmetric superpositions of expanding and contracting universes.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1207.5601

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zbMATH Keywords

loop quantum cosmologyHamiltonian constraintultraviolet cutoffscalar matter

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Quantum field theory on curved space or space-time backgrounds (81T20) Quantization of the gravitational field (83C45) Relativistic cosmology (83F05)

Cited In (3)

• von-Neumann stability and singularity resolution in loop quantized Schwarzschild black hole
• An inhomogeneous space-time patching model based on a nonlocal and nonlinear Schrödinger equation
• A note on the scalar products in sLQC

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