Uniqueness of the tunneling wave function of the Universe

Journal Article · Mon Feb 15 04:00:00 EST 1988 · Phys. Rev. D; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.37.898· OSTI ID:5647883

Vachaspati, T; Vilenkin, A

The ''tunneling'' approach to quantum cosmology is applied to a perturbative superspace model in which the inhomogeneous modes of the gravitational and scalar fields are treated as linear perturbations. It is shown that in this approach the wave function of the Universe is uniquely determined by the boundary conditions. It describes a universe nucleating as a de Sitter space with quantum fields in de Sitter-invariant vacuum states.

• Research Organization: Bartol Research Institute, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716
• OSTI ID: 5647883
• Journal Information: Phys. Rev. D; (United States), Journal Name: Phys. Rev. D; (United States) Vol. 37:4; ISSN PRVDA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640106* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Cosmology
645400 -- High Energy Physics-- Field Theory
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
COSMOLOGICAL MODELS
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
EQUATIONS
FIELD THEORIES
FUNCTIONS
GRAVITATIONAL FIELDS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
PERTURBATION THEORY
QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
SCALAR FIELDS
SCHROEDINGER EQUATION
SEMICLASSICAL APPROXIMATION
UNIVERSE
VACUUM STATES
WAVE EQUATIONS
WAVE FUNCTIONS