Relational Quantum Cosmology

Abstract

The application of quantum theory to cosmology raises a number of conceptual questions, such as the role of the quantum-mechanical notion of "observer" or the absence of a time variable in the Wheeler-DeWitt equation. I point out that a relational formulation of quantum mechanics, and more in general the observation that evolution is always relational, provides a coherent solution to this tangle of problems.

20 pages, 4 figures. Contribution to the forthcoming book on Philosophy of Cosmology edited by K. Chamcham, J. Barrow, J. Silk and S. Saunders for Cambridge University Press

References in corpus (7)

• Quantum Nature of the Big Bang
• A "general boundary" formulation for quantum mechanics and quantum gravity
• Towards Spinfoam Cosmology
• Loop quantum cosmology: From pre-inflationary dynamics to observations
• Stepping out of Homogeneity in Loop Quantum Cosmology
• Cosmological constant in spinfoam cosmology
• Elements of information-theoretic derivation of the formalism of quantum theory

Cited by in corpus (7)

• Protected $SL(2,\mathbb{R})$ Symmetry in Quantum Cosmology
• Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods for graph refinement in Spinfoam Cosmology
• Does Quantum Cosmology Predict the Age of the Universe?
• The Relational Interpretation of Quantum Physics
• A (strictly) contemporary perspective on trans-Planckian censorship
• Time, space and matter in the primordial universe
• Time is Order