Covariant phase space quantization of cosmological models

Abstract

Covariant phase space quantization attempts to quantize the full space of classical solutions, leading to a quantum theory in which the usual time coordinate is missing. In this paper we explore how the time evolution of the quantum states of this system is restored. We compare covariant phase space methods for a nonrelativistic system (the harmonic oscillator) and three relativistic quantum cosmologies. We find that for the nonrelativistic case the preferred time coordinate emerges in a phase factor when one transforms among certain representations, giving exactly the phase that appears when the time evolution operator acts on the stationary states in the usual quantization method. For the relativistic cases, on the other hand, this phase factor is no longer present, and covariance appears to be restored. These results are consistent with other quantization methods for these models.