COT5 - Quantum Cosmology and Quantum Effects in the Early Universe |
Speaker_ |
Esposito, Giampiero |
Talk _ |
QUANTUM COSMOLOGY FROM THREE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES |
Abstract _ |
This review is devoted to three promising research lines in quantum cosmology and the physics of the early universe. The nonperturbative renormalization programme is making encouraging progress that we here assess from the point of view of cosmological applications: Hamiltonian and Lagrangian form of pure gravity with variable G and Lambda; power-law inflation for pure gravity; an accelerating universe without dark energy. In perturbative quantum cosmology, on the other hand, diff-invariant boundary conditions lead naturally to a singularity-free one-loop wave function of the universe. Last, but not least, in the braneworld picture one discovers the novel concept of cosmological wave function of the bulk spacetime. Its impact on quantum cosmology is still, to a large extent, unexplored. |