An introduction to quantum cosmology

Abstract

This is an introductory set of lecture notes on quantum cosmology, given in 1995 to an audience with interests ranging from astronomy to particle physics. Topics covered: 1. Introduction: 1.1 Quantum cosmology and quantum gravity; 1.2 A brief history of quantum cosmology. 2. Hamiltonian formulation of general relativity: 2.1 The 3+1 decomposition; 2.2 The action. 3. Quantisation: 3.1 Superspace; 3.2 Canonical quantisation; 3.3 Path integral quantisation; 3.4 Minisuperspace; 3.5 The WKB approximation; 3.6 Probability measures; 3.7 Minisuperspace for the Friedmann universe with massive scalar field. 4. Boundary Conditions: 4.1 The no-boundary proposal; 4.2 The tunneling proposal. 5. The predictions of quantum cosmology: 5.1 The period of inflation; 5.2 The origin of density perturbations; 5.3 The arrow of time.