Chapter Nine

QUANTUM COSMOLOGY

9.1 Wavefunction of Universe

The application of Quantum Theory to Cosmology is a logical extension. Quantum Mechanics was originally developed for atomic particles. Since particles in a system can be represented by a wave function, it follows that we can indeed have wavefunctions and states for conglomeration of particles. Success of this was rigorously developed in the solution of Hydrogen atom. Thus it can be extended even to the universe or universes. It assumes that the whole cosmos could be represented by a wavefunction from which all information regarding it can be obtained. While the idea is good it was not easy to get there mathematically.

Feynman had developed his Path Integral Techniques to reduce the labor of cumbersome evaluation of long integrals. This technique was borrowed by cosmologists to evaluate otherwise difficult Cosmological integrals. This method is known as `sum over histories'. In practice however we can restrict the number of such integrals to a reasonable level because most of the integrals will cancel each other’s contribution. The path integral can be calculated by just considering a few geometries that give a particularly large contribution. These are known as instantons. Selecting these instantons are a problem. Depending on the choice of instantons we have differing models of the universe. We have essentially three types of choices.
1. A flat universe. This is the usual three-dimensional space and time that are independent of each other – the world we know of
2. A closed Universe. Here the space-time forms a four-dimensional closed system. The volume is finite but the surface are has boundaries - a sphere is a three dimensional closed universe. The unique 4-dimensional space with constant positive curvature is a 4-dimensional sphere. The cosmological scenario where space has positive constant curvature is called a closed Universe. In this space-time, space expands from zero volume in a Big Bang but then reaches a maximum volume and starts to contract back to zero volume in a Big Crunch. We extend this into four dimensions to have the idea of a closed Universe. Just as the area of the surface is finite but the surface has no boundaries the four-dimensional sphere has a finite volume but no boundaries.

3. An open Universe Here the space and time have no limits . Astronomical evidence seems to point to this final option.

Several models have been proposed. Among then are:
- Stephen Hawking and Ian Moss model known as `no boundary' model . -- - Coleman-De Luccia open universe model.
- Stephen Hawking and Neil Turok model with singularities where at some points the curvature becomes infinite.

http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/gr/public/qg_qc.html

9.2 Stephen Hawking's Universe as a Quantum Particle (Hawking/Hartle theory)

"The Ontological Interpretation of the Wave Function of the Universe'. by Quentin Smith, The Monist, vol. 80, no.1, pp, 160-185, Copyright 1997, THE MONIST, La Salle. Illinois 61301. http://www.qsmithwmu.com/the_ontological_interpretation_of_the_wave_function_of_the_universe.htm

Hawking's idea was to treat the entire universe as though it were a quantum object. Since the universe started as a point by virtue of its creation we have an entangled system and we should expect that the system could be represented by a wave function. Hawkins idea is to treat it as a particle or rather as a soap bubbles floating in space. It is possible that we have several other parallel universes in existence. We therefore have a set of all possible universes probably infinite in number. If We certainly know that there is a high probability density for the position of our universe. If we assume that the probability of existence of other universes are less we will get a state function of the form:

Then there is a finite possibility that there exist other universes However it is possible that there are others with equal probability. We should expect them similar to the soap bubbles that float around with possibilities or coalescing together or splitting apart and other dynamics. Apart from inter-universal tunneling possibility the gravitational nature of black holes and white holes will mean The Hawking/Hartle theory also postulates the possibility of the existence of wormholes connecting the different universes.

It would then follow that there can a possibility of inter-universal tunneling for personalities from one universe into the other. It is also possible then for a supermind to impose potential wells over any of the universe to constrain it – a sort of quarantining the universe for some time and allow a selective transmission. Since this is highly conjectural I will not precede any further. But the implications of the reality of such possibility are tremendous. If there are other universes, the nonlocality principle assures us that we have a connection with them as well. What other dimensions are there in the universe. Can we jump dimensions by some tunneling process? Can we build such tunnels? These have tremendous theological implications.

Dr. Michiu Kaku http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/hangar/6929/h_kaku2.html
http://web.uvic.ca/~jtwong/Hartle-Hawking.htm

9.3 Fine Tuning and The Weak Anthropic Principle

“The observed values of all physical and cosmological quantities are not equally probable, but they take on values restricted by the requirement that there exist sites where carbon-based life can evolve and by the requirement that the Universe be old enough for it to have already done so. “
Barrow, John and Tipler, Frank (1986): The Anthropic Cosmological Principle. Clarendon Press.

Statistically, the chance for obtaining a definite macro-world out of the quantum realm is practically zero, and so is the chance for setting up the initial condition of the Big Bang to match the Universe we live in -- the accuracy of pinpointing our Universe is one part in 10¹²³⁰ (Penrose R. (1997) The Large, the Small and the Human Mind. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.).

"The remarkable fact is that the values of these numbers (i.e. the constants of physics) seem to have been very finely adjusted to make possible the development of life". "For example," Hawking writes, "if the electric charge of the electron had been only slightly different, stars would have been unable to burn hydrogen and helium, or else they would not have exploded. It seems clear that there are relatively few ranges of values for the numbers (for the constants) that would allow for development of any form of intelligent life. Most sets of values would give rise to universes that, although they might be very beautiful, would contain no one able to wonder at that beauty. …. a divine purpose in Creation and the choice of the laws of science (by God)" p. 125).

Stephen Hawking "A Brief History of Time

Thus there is ample evidence to show that the universe we live in are fine tuned for human existence.

"The really amazing thing is not that life on Earth is balanced on a knife-edge, but that the entire universe is balanced on a knife-edge, and would be total chaos if any of the natural 'constants' were off even slightly. You see," Davies adds, "even if you dismiss man as a chance happening, the fact remains that the universe seems unreasonably suited to the existence of life -- almost contrived -- you might say a 'put-up job'."

Prof. Paul Davies, Adelaide University

Dr. Gerald Schroeder, "Genesis and the Big Bang" and "The Science of Life
http://www.geraldschroeder.com/tuning.html

Hugh Ross http://www.reasons.org/resources/apologetics/design_evidences/20020502_universe_design.shtml?main
Design and the Anthropic Principle http://mypage.direct.ca/g/gcramer/design.html

I should modify this a little more to include all carbon-based life other than humans. Human form seems to be only one of the forms. Scripture describes three other forms along with human form in the universe. Eze 10:14 And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

Rev 4:7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle

It is quite possible that these are real beings and not just symbolic who share this universe with us or are in other universes similar to ours.

This world certainly fits the need of human life as we know of with a human body of flesh. Very often people seem to assume that life and consciousness are dependent on the body. The reality is that it is the other way round. The universe was created by consciousness or intelligence. It has nothing to do with what type of body the consciousness inhabits. Life is not produced by evolution. Thus Brahman has to be Pre-existent or Co-existent with Prakriti and never created by evolutionary process. We can of course assume that Consciousness is an elementary particle of Prakriti, which is only a re-statement of the coexistence principle. It follows that there may be universes where life exists and inhabits other forms of bodies in other dimensions. The wavefunction for the universe therefore allows for such probability peaks. The only true statement we can make is that the universe where we live is fine tuned to sustain human life. Other universes are fine tuned for other forms of life and intelligence.

We have also seen that they allow for inter-universe tunneling or travel by wormholes. It is possible to separate beings based on their choices. This amply allows for the existence of heaven and hell as real universes. The only documentation for inter-universe travel are found only in religious scriptures and if they can be trusted there had been so many visitors to this world from other worlds. These had been beings with bodies vastly different from ours. Prophets and Sages of the past have referred to these bodies as Spiritual Bodies, Astral Bodies , etc.

1Co 15:39 For not all flesh is alike, but there is one kind for men, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.

1Co 15:40 There are celestial bodies and there are terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

1Co 15:41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

We should not be surprised if we come across such beings in out daily life.

When Jesus declared:

Joh 14:2 In my Father's house there are many abodes; were it not so, I had told you: for I go to prepare you a place;

Joh 14:3 and if I go and shall prepare you a place, I am coming again and shall receive you to myself, that where I am ye also may be.

Rev 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth disappeared, and the sea vanished

This new universe has new laws:
Rev 21:4 “He will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain. The old things have disappeared."

The clear teaching of the scripture is that the present universe where we live in is brought to this state by the willful creation of human will imposed over the creation of God.

Genesis story repeated reminds Adam and Eve that the change in the universe they live came into existence “because of “ their action
Gen 3:17 And to Adam he (God) said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

Gen 3:18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.

Gen 3:19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

As a result the world as we live today is a decaying world. Apparently this universe was quarantined as a result. This quarantine order is inherent in the mention of it in Jude thus:
Jud 1:6 And the angels that did not keep their own position but left their proper dwelling have been kept by him in eternal chains in the nether gloom until the judgment of the great day;

These angels who violated the quarantine rules into the human realms are now isolated in another universe without any wormholes or connection to ours until the judgment day. Existence of these universes were taken as granted in the ancient world.

9.4 Observer-Created or Participatory Universe : Strong Anthropic Principle

The fine tuning of our universe for human existence indicates strongly of a designer God who created it for that particular purpose. An alternative explanation was tried in the Strong Anthropic argument . In this argument even though there are all possible potentialities in the universal wavefunction, only those that can the universe appears "designed" for life has the potential for conscious, self aware mine which are needed for the universe to “concretize” or “actualize” or collapse the wavefunction to make it come into existence. There is however a self-negating argument in this approach. We need an external actual observer – not a potential observer – to collapse or actualize the universe into existence. Who is this initial observer who concretized our universe?

9.5 The Penrose-Hawking Singularity Theorem

Cosmologists have come up with the notion of the Big Bang. Another term for the Big Bang would be The Creation Moment. The ultimate “In the Beginning”. See Genesis 1:1. Right at this moment time was born. There was no before this moment, because there was no time. According to Stephen Hawking in "A Brief History of Time" St Augustine was asked what God did before He created the universe. St Augustine replied that time was a property of the universe God created, so there was no before He created the universe.

The singularity theorem proved that a "singularity" at time = 0 is inevitable so long as gravity remains an attractive force and at this singularity the fabric of space and time becomes undefined, non-existent. In 1976 while I was in the Theoretical Physics Center in Trieste, Italy, an Indian Bengalee Graduate Student showed me his solution to the Einstien’s equation which showed a homogeneous symmetric solution in space and a non symmetric solution in time. The interpretation was simple. There never was a time before the beginning of the Big Bang t=0 singularity. This universe was created with time and not in time. Questions like where was God when he created the universe and what was he doing are simply begging the question. Any attempt to picture God existing in time is a misunderstanding.

9.6 The Future of the Universe

Personally, I’m sure that the universe began with a hot Big Bang. But will it go on forever? If not, how will it end? I’m much less certain about that. The expansion of the universe spreads everything out, but gravity tries to pull it all back together again. Our destiny depends on which force will win.” —STEPHEN HAWKING

The universe has been expanding since the Big Bang. Gravity is slowing the rate of expansion. There may be an unknown repulsive force (the "cosmological constant") that is accelerating the expansion since we have evidence for an expanding universe.
In 1920s, Edwin Hubble presented evidence that the universe was not static, but expanding - fabric of space itself is expanding, stretching like the surface of a balloon. The volume of the universe is increasing.

There are two possible futures for the universe:

If there is enough matter in the universe gravity will stop this present expansion process and the universe will start contracting and will end up in a Big Crunch - a death by fire (heat death)

If there is not enough matter in the universe expansion wins and the universe will expand forever. As it expands the energy gets dissipated and the temperature decrease until it reaches the absolute zero of temperature when everything comes to a stand still. We have a freeze death.

“..we are driven back . . . to God alone as the basis of final hope, so that our own and the

universe’s destiny awaits a transforming act of divine redemption.”

-- John Polkinghorne

2Pe 3:7 But the present heaven and the present earth have been kept for destruction by fire, which is waiting for them on the day of the judging and destruction of evil men.

2Pe 3:13 But having faith in his word, we are looking for a new heaven and a new earth, which will be the resting-place of righteousnes

In the heat death as the Big Crunch leads to a big black hole all gathered information will be lost and it is possible to enter into a new dimension through a white hole that opens up a new universe somewhere else. It is not a rebound universe but a new creation.

Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were gone; and there was no more sea.

Rev 21:2 And I saw the holy town, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, like a bride made beautiful for her husband.