Can Stochastic Clocks in FLRW Minisuperspace Prevent Dynamical Singularities?

Abstract

We develop a stochastic extension of the Wheeler--DeWitt equation in FLRW minisuperspace and show that quantum backreaction can dynamically regulate the big bang singularity without imposing external boundary conditions. Using Laplace--Beltrami quantisation and an open-system treatment of coarse-grained graviton modes, we obtain a stochastic Hamiltonian evolution equation in which the diffusion coefficient takes the form $σ(a)\propto a^2$. This multiplicative noise vanishes at the origin and renders $a=0$ an entrance boundary in Feller's classification, leading to super-exponential suppression of the Laplace--Beltrami weighted stationary density and zero probability flux into the singular point. At large scale factor, the global behaviour depends on the cosmological sector: de Sitter and positive potential-dominated regimes exhibit power-law stationary tails, whereas confining potentials or negative effective cosmological constant lead to an entrance boundary at infinity and a globally normalizable steady state. Taken together, these results indicate that stochastic backreaction arising from semiclassical coarse-graining provides a consistent and dynamical mechanism for singularity avoidance in minisuperspace quantum cosmology.