Loop quantum cosmology status report

[wolram]

Sorry if this has already been discussed, i couldn't find any thing.arXiv:1108.0893 (cross-list from gr-qc) [pdf, ps, other]
Loop Quantum Cosmology: A Status Report
Abhay Ashtekar, Parampreet Singh
Comments: 136 pages, 15 figures
Subjects: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc); Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO); High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)

The goal of this article is to provide an overview of the current state of the art in loop quantum cosmology for three sets of audiences: young researchers interested in entering this area; the quantum gravity community in general; and, cosmologists who wish to apply loop quantum cosmology to probe modifications in the standard paradigm of the early universe. An effort has been made to streamline the material so that each of these communities can read only the sections they are most interested in, without a loss of continuity.

http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/1108/1108.0893v1.pdf

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[unusualname]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1108.0893v1

very nice, and almost book length at 136 pages.

 

[marcus]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1108.0893v1

very nice, and almost book length at 136 pages.

You are right. And there is a real need for an up-to-date review like this.

"... three sets of audiences:
young researchers interested in entering this area;
the quantum gravity community in general;
and, cosmologists who wish to apply loop quantum cosmology to probe modifications in the standard paradigm of the early universe. "

The loop cosmology field is changing fast. More work in phenomenology/testing. New form of semiclassical states. New canonical formulation. Application of covariant (spinfoam) dynamics to cosmology.

The number of researchers is growing. So there needs to be a paper like this to help get the new people oriented and productively engaged.

As background to help assess the situation, here is a search that turns up recent (2009 and later) loop cosmo phenomenology papers:
http://www-library.desy.de/cgi-bin/spiface/find/hep/www?rawcmd=FIND+%28DK+QUANTUM+GRAVITY%2C+LOOP+SPACE+OR+DK+QUANTUM+COSMOLOGY%2C+LOOP+SPACE%29+AND+%28DK+PRIMORDIAL%2C+FLUCTUATION+OR+DK+INFLATION+OR+DK+COSMIC+BACKGROUND+RADIATION%29+AND+DATE+%3E+2007&FORMAT=www&SEQUENCE=citecount%28d%29
Exploring ways to test the LQC bounce model by observations of the early universe.
There is an increasing amount of work done in this area.