The linearly polarized Gowdy $T^3$ model can be regarded as compact Bianchi I cosmologies with inhomogeneous modes allowed to travel in one direction. We study a hybrid quantization of this model that combines the loop quantization of the Bianchi I background, adopting the improved dynamics scheme put forward by Ashtekar and Wilson-Ewing, with a Fock quantization for the inhomogeneities. The Hamiltonian constraint operator provides a resolution of the cosmological singularity and superselects separable sectors. We analyze the complicated structure of these sectors. In any of them the Hamiltonian constraint provides an evolution equation with respect to the volume of the associated Bianchi I universe, with a well posed initial value problem. This fact allows us to construct the Hilbert space of physical states and to show that we recover the standard quantum field theory for the inhomogeneities.
When applying the techniques of Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG) to symmetry-reduced gravitational systems, one first regularizes the scalar constraint using holonomy corrections, prior to quantization. In inhomogeneous system, where a residual spatial diffeomorphism symmetry survives, such modification of the gauge generator generating time reparametrization can potentially lead to deformations or anomalies in the modified algebra of first class constraints. When working with self-dual variables, it has already been shown that, for spherically symmetric geometry coupled to a scalar field, the holon…
In this work, we present an overview of uniqueness results derived in recent years for the quantization of Gowdy cosmological models and for (test) Klein-Gordon fields minimally coupled to Friedmann-Lema\^ıtre-Robertson-Walker, de Sitter, and Bianchi I spacetimes. These results are attained by imposing the criteria of symmetry invariance and of unitary implementability of the dynamics. This powerful combination of criteria allows not only to address the ambiguity in the representation of the canonical commutation relations, but also to single out a preferred set of fundamental variables. For t…
Loop Quantum Gravity is a nonperturbative and background independent program for the quantization of General Relativity. Its underlying formalism has been applied successfully to the study of cosmological spacetimes, both to test the principles and techniques of the theory and to discuss its physical consequences. These applications have opened a new area of research known as Loop Quantum Cosmology. The hybrid approach addresses the quantization of cosmological systems that include fields. This proposal combines the description of a finite number of degrees of freedom using Loop Quantum Cosmol…
In the framework of Loop Quantum Cosmology, inhomogeneous models are usually quantized by means of a hybrid approach that combines loop quantization techniques with standard quantum field theory methods. This approach is based on a splitting of the phase space in a homogeneous sector, formed by global, zero-modes, and an inhomogeneous sector, formed by the remaining, infinite number of modes, that describe the local degrees of freedom. Then, the hybrid quantization is attained by adopting a loop representation for the homogeneous gravitational sector, while a Fock representation is used for th…
We implement Polymer Quantum Mechanics on the Hamiltonian formulation of the isotropic Universe in both the representations of the standard Ashtekar-Barbero-Immirzi connection and of a new generalized coordinate conjugate to the Universe volume. The resulting dynamics is a bouncing cosmology; when quantizing the volume-like variable the Big Bounce is an intrinsic cut-off on the cosmological dynamics, while when using the standard connection the Bounce density results to be dependent on the initial conditions of the prepared wave packet. Then we compare the nature of the resulting Bounce with w…
We propose a new derivation from the full Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG) to the Loop Quantum Cosmology (LQC) improved $\barμ$-scheme effective dynamics, based on the reduced phase space formulation of LQG and a proposal of effective Hamiltonian/action in the full LQG. A key step of our program is an improved regularization of the full LQG Hamiltonian on a cubic lattice. The improved Hamiltonian uses a set of "dressed holonomies" $h_Δ(\mathfrak{s})$ which not only depend on the connection $A$ but also depend on the length of the curve $\mathfrak{s}$. With the improved Hamiltonian, we propose a quan…
We discuss the quantization of vacuum Bianchi I spacetimes in the modified formalism of loop quantum cosmology recently proposed by Dapor and Liegener. This modification is based on a regularization procedure where both the Euclidean and Lorentzian terms of the Hamiltonian are treated independently. Whereas the Euclidean part has already been dealt with in the literature for Bianchi I spacetimes, the Lorentzian one has not yet been represented quantum mechanically. After a brief review of the quantum kinematics and the quantization of the Euclidean sector, we represent the Lorentzian part of t…
In this letter, we stress that the simplest cosmological model consisting in a massless scalar field minimally coupled to homogeneous and isotropic gravity has an in-built $\SL(2,\mathbb{R})$ symmetry. Protecting this symmetry naturally provides an efficient way to constrain the quantization of this cosmological system whatever the quantization scheme and allows in particular to fix the quantization ambiguities arising in the canonical quantization program. Applying this method to the loop quantization of the FLRW cosmology leads to a new loop quantum cosmology model which preserves the $\SL(2…
A rigorous constraint analysis on cosmic inflation entails several probes which collectively survey an extensive range of energy scales. We complement the cosmic microwave background data with an updated compilation of the cosmic abundance limits of primordial black holes, with which we infer stringent constraints on the runnings of the scalar spectral index. These constraints are notably improved by further including imminent measurements of the cosmic microwave background spectral distortions, clearly illustrating the effectiveness of joint large-scale and small-scale cosmological surveys.
In the path integral formulation of the reduced phase space Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG), we propose a new approach to allow the spatial cubic lattice (graph) to change dynamically in the physical time evolution. The equations of motion of the path integral derive the effective dynamics of cosmology from the full LQG, when we focus on solutions with homogeneous and isotropic symmetry. The resulting cosmological effective dynamics with the dynamical lattice improves the effective dynamics obtained earlier from the path integral with fixed spatial lattice: The improved effective dynamics recovers …
