Cosmological singularity resolution from quantum gravity: The emergent-bouncing universe

Alternative scenarios to the big bang singularity have been subject of intense research for several decades by now. Most popular in this sense have been frameworks were such singularity is replaced by a bounce around some minimal cosmological volume or by some early quantum phase. This latter scenario was devised a long time ago and referred as an “emergent universe” (in the sense that our universe emerged from a constant volume quantum phase). We show here that within an improved framework of canonical quantum gravity (the so-called quantum reduced loop gravity) the Friedmann equations for cosmology are modified in such a way to replace the big bang singularity with a short bounce preceded by a metastable quantum phase in which the volume of the universe oscillates between a series of local maxima and minima. We call this hybrid scenario an “emergent-bouncing universe” since after a pure oscillating quantum phase the classical Friedmann spacetime emerges. Perspective developments and possible tests of this scenario are discussed in the end.

Figure 1

Dynamics of $v$ in LQC: the universe experiences a contracting phase after which undergoes to a bounce followed by an expanding phase.

Figure 2

Dynamics of v in QRLG: Our classical universe emerges from a metastable quantum oscillating phase in which the volume of the universe is bounded and can never reach classical values.