Cosmological models with asymmetric quantum bounces

Abstract: In quantum cosmology, one has to select a specific wave function solution of the quantum state equations under consideration in order to obtain concrete results. The simplest choices have been already explored, in different frameworks, yielding, in many cases, quantum bounces. As there is no consensually established boundary condition proposal in quantum cosmology, we investigate the consequences of enlarging known sets of initial wave functions of the universe, in the specific framework of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation interpreted along the lines of the de Broglie-Bohm quantum theory, on the possible quantum bounce solutions which emerge from them. In particular, we show that many asymmetric quantum bounces are obtained, which may incorporate non-trivial back-reaction mechanisms, as quantum particle production around the bounce, in the quantum background itself. In particular, the old hypothesis that our expanding universe might have arisen from quantum fluctuations of a fundamental quantum flat space-time is recovered, within a different and yet unexplored perspective.