New Ekpyrotic Quantum Cosmology

Abstract: Ekpyrotic instantons describe the emergence of classical contracting universes out of the no-boundary quantum state. However, up to now these instantons ended in a big crunch singularity. We remedy this by adding a higher-derivative term, allowing a ghost condensate to form. This causes a smooth, non-singular bounce from the contracting phase into an expanding, kinetic-dominated phase. Remarkably, and although there is a non-trivial evolution during the bounce, the wavefunction of the universe is "classical" in a WKB sense just as much after the bounce as before. These new non-singular instantons can thus form the basis for a fully non-singular and calculable ekpyrotic history of the universe, from creation until now.