2013/12/31 by Mariam Bouhmadi-López, Mariam Bouhmadi-Lopez, Claus Kiefer +2
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Classical mechanics #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Geometry #Gravitational singularity #Isotropy #Mathematical analysis #Mathematical physics #Mathematics #Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories #Physics #Quantization (signal processing) #Quantum #Quantum cosmology #Quantum gravity #Quantum mechanics #Scalar (mathematics) #Scalar field #Singularity #Theoretical physics #Wave function #Wheeler–DeWitt equation #gr-qc
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevd.89.064016
published as Phys. Rev. D 89, 064016 (2014) · 10 pages, 4 figures, clarifications included
arxiv created 2014/02/06 · openalex publication_date 2014/03/06 · arxiv updated 2014/03/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We discuss the fate of classical type IV singularities in quantum cosmology. The framework is Wheeler-DeWitt quantization applied to homogeneous and isotropic universes with a perfect fluid described by a generalized Chaplygin gas. Such a fluid can be dynamically realized by a scalar field. We treat the cases of a standard scalar field with positive kinetic energy and of a scalar field with negative energy (phantom field). We first present the classical solutions. We then discuss in detail the Wheeler-DeWitt equation for these models. We are able to give analytic solutions for a special case and to draw conclusions for the general case. Adopting the criterion that singularities are avoided if the wave function vanishes in the region of the classical singularity, we find that type IV singularities are avoided only for particular solutions of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation. We compare this result with earlier results found for other types of singularities.