Quantum Cosmology (1984)

USMG NATO ASI
LES HOUCHES
SESSION XL
27 Ju in - 4 Ao(it 1983
RELATIVITE, GROUPES
ET TOPOLOGIE II
RELATIVITY, GROUPS
AND TOPOLOGY II
edite par
BRYCE S. DEWITT et RAYMOND STORA
�c
�
�
1984
NORTH-HOLLAND
A M S T E RDAM · OXFORD · NEW YORK · TOKYO
© Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., 1984
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Relativite,. groupes et topologie II.
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At head of title: USMG. NATO AS!.
"Les Houches, Ecole d'ete de physique theorique"--
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1. General relativity (Physics)--Congresses.
2. Quantum field theory--Congresses. 3. Topology-
Congresses. 4. Gauge fields (Phvsics)--Con2resses.
I. DeWitt, Bryce S. (Bryce Seligman), 1923-
11. Stora, Raymond, 1930- III. Ecole d'ete de
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Institute. v. Relativite, groupes et topologte.
VI. Title: Relativity, groups, and topology II.
QC173.6.R45 1984 530.1'1 84-14740
ISBN 0-444-86858-5
Printed in The Netherlands

COURSE 4
QUANTUM COSMOLOGY
S.W. HAWKING
Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics

University of Cambridge
Cambridge, UK
B.S. DeWitt and R. Stora, eds.

Les Houches, Session XL, 1983
Relativite, groupes et topo/ogie ll I Relativity, groups and topology ll
© Elsevier Science Publishers B. V., 1984
Contents
I. Introduction 336
2. Euclidean quantum fiel d theory 338
3. Quantum fiel ds in curved space 341
4. GUT era inflation 342
4.1. The old Inflationary Model 345
4.2. The new Inflationary Model 348
4.3. Euclidean formulation of the Inflationary Model 350
4.4. Growth of irregularities in the Inflationary Model 353
5. Quantum gravity 355
6. The conformal factor 361
7. The boundary con ditions 362
8. Minisuperspace 364
8. I. De Sitter space 364
8.2. Our Universe? 369
9. Conclusion 376
References 379
1. Introduction
The subject of these lectures is quantum effects in cosmology. I shall deal

first with situations in which the gravitational fiel d can be treate d as a
classical, unquantized backgroun d on which the quan tum matter fiel ds
propagate . This is the case with inflation at the GUT era . Nevertheless,
the curvature of spacetime can have important effects on the behaviour of
the quantum fiel ds an d on the development of long -range correlations . I
shall then turn to the more exciting, an d more speculative, question of
the quantization of the gravitational fiel d itself.
Quantum mechanics has been applied with great success to small
systems (by sma ll I mean anyth ing from a two -pa rticle system up to a
white dwarf or neutron star ) . For such situations the Copenhagen
Interpretation of quantum mechanics is a de qu ate : the quantum system is
suppose d to interact with an external observer who is describe d by
classical phys ic s . Before the observation, the state of the system is a
linear superposition of different eigenstates of the observable, but after
the measureme nt of one of the eigenvalues of the o bservable, the system
jumps to the correspon ding eigenstate . This is the so -called "Collapse of
the Wavefunction " . However, the Copenhagen I nterpretation is clearly
no use if we want to consi der the quantum mecha nics of the whole
universe, becau se, by its very definition, the universe inclu des everyth ing
of which we ca n have knowl e dge . There might be angels who coul d
observe the Universe from outsi de but they coul d never communicate
the results of their observations to us because, if they coul d, they woul d
be part of the Universe an d wou l d be governe d by the same laws,
inclu ding quantum mechanics, as the rest of the universe . It is possible
to overcome this di fficulty an d to give an interpretation of quantum
mec hanics which refers only to measurements within the system . This is
usually calle d the "Many Worl ds " Interpretation . I think it is a rat her
mislea ding name because it suggests that the u niverse is continua ll �
branching or divi ding an d people object that they do not feel themselves
branching. In fact I think that the Many Worl ds Interpretation simply
involves the use of con ditional probabilities, that is, the probability that
A will occur gi ven B . These con ditional probabilities or correlations ca n
be calculate d by the stan da r d rules of quantum mechanics . In my
opinion there is no problem in applying quantum mechanics to the
3 36
Quantum cosmology 337
w hole un iverse a n d my att itu de to t hose who argue about the

interpretat ion of qua ntum mechan ics is reflected in a paraphrase of
Goer ing 's remark : "When I �ear of Schroe dinger 's cat, I reach for my
gun ".
A t the present t ime any quantum effects on cosmology are negl ig ibly
smal l : the large-scale structure of the un iverse is descr ibe d by class ical
General Relativity to a very h igh degree of accuracy . Ho wever, the
class ical theory pre dicts that the un iverse must have ha d a singular ity in
the past at whic h the curvature of spacet ime would have been infin ite
a n d at wh ich it woul d not have been poss ible to apply t he laws of
physics (see Hawk ing and Ell is 1 97 3 ) . One woul d expect class ical
General Relat iv ity to break down in very strong gra v itat ional fiel ds in
wh ich quantum grav itat ional effects become s ignificant . Th e im portance
of the s ingular ity theorems is therefore that they show that quantum
effects were dom inant at the beg inning of the expans ion of the u n iverse.
The in it ial con dit ions for the evolut ion of the u n iverse dur ing the
class ical epoch w ill be determine d by quantum grav ity. Thus, the
spec ificat ion of the bou n dary con dit ions of the universe is e qu ivalent to
giv ing a presc r ipt ion for its quantum state. I shall pu t forwar d a
pro posal that the quantum state of the u n iverse is define d by a path
integral over all compact Eucl idean ( i.e . pos itive defin ite ) metr ics
(Hawk ing 1 982 , Hartle and Hawk ing 198 3 ). Th is incorporates the idea
th at the un iverse is completely self-conta ine d: there is noth ing outs ide .
In other wor ds, the boun dary con dit ion of the universe is that it has no
boun dary. I shall show that , at least in a s imple mo del, th is prescr ipt ion
for the quantum state g ives a wavefunct ion that can be interp reted as a
superposition of the wavefunctions co rresponding to a number of
different close d class ical Fr iedmann mo dels w h ich each start off w ith a
l ong per iod of exponen t ial expans ion a n d then go over to a matter
dom inated phase . They expan d to a very large ra dius and then
recollapse and repeat the behaviour per io dically . Suc h a wavefunct ion
really does re qu ire t he "Many Worl ds " interpretat ion . There is no
confl ict w ith observation because the matrix elements of any observable
between wavefunctions correspon ding to different classical Fr ie dmann
mo dels are very small .
The plan o f these lectures is a s follows :

Sect ion 2 deals w ith the Eucl idean approach to quantum fiel d theory
in flat space . In sect ion 3, I exten d these techn iques to quantum fiel ds on
a curved backgroun d w ith the four-sphere , the Eucl idean vers ion of De
S itter space as a particular example . Sect ion 4 deals w ith the GUT era
3 38 S. W. Hawking
inflationa ry mode l . I show how th is can be formulate d in Eucli dean terms

an d I discuss the growth of irregularitie s. In section 5, I describe how the
gravitational fiel d can be quantize d by a Eucli dean path integral an d I
define a wavefunc tion of three-geo metries an d matter fiel d configurations
which obeys the Wheeler-DeWitt equation . Sectio n 6 deals with the
path integr al over the conformal factor . It is necessary to rotate the
contour of integration in the complex plane in o r der to make the
integral converge . In section 7, I discuss the boun dary con ditions on the
metrics in the path integral . These determine the quantum state of the
universe . I show that the only reasonable bou n dary con ditions for
cosmology are that one integrates over co mpact metrics . The
consequences of this boundary con dition are explore d in section 8 where
I consi der simplified minisu perspace mo dels in which most of the
degrees of free dom are frozen ou t . A homogeneous isotropic mo del with
a massive scalar fiel d gives a wavefunction which cou l d de scribe our
universe. Section 9 is the Conclusion .
2. Euclidean quantum field theory
In this section, I shall motivate the Euclidean A pproach to qu antum

gravity . Fu rther details will be foun d in earlier reviews (Hawking
1 979a , b, Eguchi et al . 1 980). I shall start with or dinary quantum fiel d
theory in flat spacetime . This can be defined by a path integral over all
fiel d configurations in Minkowski space . For example, in the case of a
scalar fiel d ¢, the amplitu de to go from a fiel d co nfiguration ¢ (x at
t1
time to be configuration </J(xi ) at time is ti 1)
(¢i,til </J 1,t1 ) f
= d[¢ ]ex p i (J [ ¢ ]), (2 . 1 )
where J [ ¢ ] is the action of the fiel d configuration </J(x, t),

d[ ¢ ] is a
measure on the space of fiel d configu rations, an d the path integral is
taken over all fiel d configuratio ns which agree with the configuration
¢(x1 ) at time t1 ti .
an d with the configuration </J(xi ) at ti me
The quantum state of the sca lar fiel d can be described by a
wavefunction l/'[¢ (x), t] wh ich is a functiona l on the space of field
configurations </J (x) at the time t. t :
The wavefunction at time ti
can be
calculate d from the wavefunction at time 1
lf'[<Pi. ti] fd[¢1]<<Pi. til<P1. t1 )lf'[¢1. t1J.
= (2 .2)
Quantum cosmology 3 39
By cons ider ing t imes t2 an d t1 that are ver y close to each other , one can
der ive the Schroe dinger equation :
o'l'[ ��x),t] = -iH 'l'[ </>(x),t], (2 . 3)
where H is the Ham iltonian functional operator.

The integran d in eq . (2 . 1 ) is of unit modulus but rapi dly vary ing
phase . The path integral therefore osc illates but does not converge . I n
or der t o obta in a convergent path integral o n e therefore rotates the time
coor dinate 90 ° clockwise in the complex plane by defin ing a new
"Eucl idean " t ime coor dinate r = it. The path integral now becomes .
(</>2, r 2 l </>1 • r 1 ) =
.f d[ </>]exp ( -T[<t> ]), (2 .4)
where the path integral is now taken over all fiel d configura t ions <J>(x, r)
which are real on the Eucli dean space w ith coordinates (x, r ) an d wh ich
approach the g iven values at r 1 an d r 2 . The quantity T[ </>] -if[ </>] is
=
the Eucli dean act ion of the fiel d configurat ion </>. In a well-behaved
quantum fiel d theory the Eucli dean act ion T is positive sem i- defin ite and
is zero only for the zero fiel d configurat ion . The integran d in the
Eucl idean path integral (2.4) is therefore exponent ially damped an d the
integral has a goo d chance of converg ing. One then analyt ically
continues the amplit u de (2.4) in the variable r 2 - r 1 anticlockw ise in the
complex t-plane back to real values .
The un derlying reason why this W ic k rotat ion in the co mp lex t-plane
make s the path integral converge is that in quantum mecha n ic s a fiel d
with energy E has a time depe n dence of the form ex p ( -iEt) . In a
reasonable theory , E � 0 . Thus a fiel d configurat ion w ith a nonzero
value of the energy will diverge at large pos it ive imaginary t, i.e . at large
real negat ive r . The path integral over all fiel ds which van ish in the past
at posit ive i maginary values of t, i.e . at negative values of r, a n d wh ich
v anish in the future a t negative imaginary values of t, i . e . pos it ive r, gives
the ampl itu de (0 +1 0 ) to go from the in itial vacuum state 1 0 ) to the
_ _
final vacuum state (O+I· S imilarly the amp l itu de (</>, o lO_) to go from
the initial vacuum to the fiel d configu rat ion </> at time o , or in other
wo r ds, the grou n d state wavefunctio n 'I' 0[ </>, o ], is given by a path
integral over all fiel ds </> in Eucl idea n space which match the g iven
con figurat ion at r o a n d which van ish at large neg at ive r. One can
=
al so introduce a term
f J</> d 3 xdr (2 . 5 )
340 S. W. Hawking
into the Eucli dean action, w here J( x, r) is a source ter m . Then the path
integral over all fiel d configurations ¢ in Euclidea n space which vanish
at large positive an d negative values of the Eucli dean time r and at la rge
spatial distances gives the amplit u de to go from the initial vacuum to the
final vacuum in the presence of the source J:
ZJ[] = (0 +1 0 _) 1 = f[] [ ]
d ¢ ex p - T ¢ , J . (2 .6)
the points x1 , r 1 ; Xi, i; Xi. ri; []

One can functionally differentiate Z J with respect to the source J at
r . . . and then set J to zer o to obtain the Euclidean
Green functions Gdx1 , r 1 ; . . . ). These will be symmetric in their
arguments for bosonic fiel ds an d anti -symmetric for fermion fiel ds . One
can analytically continue GE in the variables r 1 - r i,
the Green functions in Minkowski space . If one keeps the imaginary
ri
- r 3 , . . . , to fin d
part of the time separations 1 - t ti, ti

- t3 , . . . , negative, one obtains the
Green functio n or vacuum ex pectation value with the operator ordering :
t ) ,</J (x i,ti),
(0 1</J ( x1 , 1 . . . 10 ) . (2 . 7 )
The expecta tion value of the fiel d is given by
(¢(x, r ) ) =
[]
t5 W J
(2 . 8 )
J(x, r) '
[] []
where W J = - log Z J . One can invert eq . (2.8 ) to express the source
J as a function of (</J (x, r ) ) . One can also define the effective action r as
a function of (</J (x, r )) by
r= W- I J(</J(x, r ) ) d3 xdr . (2 .9)
The source J can then be expressed as

t5 r
J = - -- . (2 . 1 0)
' t5 (¢ )
Thus , in the absence of sources, the effective action is an extremum:
t5r
= 0. (2 . 1 1 )
<5 (¢ )
The effective potential V((</J ) ) is the effective action per unit volu me fo r
constant expectation value (¢ ) . It will be o f interest t o u s i n connection
with spontaneous symmetry breaking . If a Higgs fiel d ¢ has an effective
potential with a global minimum at zero , the expectation value (¢ ) will
be zero an d the g auge symmetry will be unbroken . However, if the

global minimum occurs at a nonzero value
will have (¢) ¢0
=
¢0,
the lowest energy state
an d the symmetry will be broken . Nevertheless, the
system may be trapped in a local minimum of the effecti ve potential at
(¢) = 0 . In this case the system will eventually tunnel quantum
mechanically fro m the "false " vacuum at (¢)
= 0 to the "true " vacuum
at(¢) ¢0= (Coleman 1976). I shall return to symmetry breaking in
connection with inflation at the GUT era in section 4.
3. Quantum fields in curved space
One can calculate path integrals for quantum fiel ds in pos itive definite
backgroun d metrics other than just flat Eucli dean space . The simplest
example is flat Eucli dean space i dentifie d with a perio d {3 in the
imaginary time coor dinate r. To see what t he physical significance of
this is, recall that the amplitu de to go from a fiel d configuration
time t1 at
to a configuration -<P i at time ti can be expresse d as a matrix
¢1
element of the Hamiltonian between these two states :
(3. 1 )
If one rotates in the complex t-plane so that ti - t
co nfiguratio n <P i equal to ¢1 1 =- i {3, puts the
an d sums over a complete set of
co nfigurations ¢., 13-1 :
the right-han d si de of eq . ( 3 . 1 ) becomes the partition
function Z(/3) at temperature T =
Z({3 ) = L: exp( - {3E.), (3.2)
where E. is the energy of the configuration

¢¢
By eq . (2 .4), Z({3) is also
•.
equal to the path integral over all fiel ds on Eucli dea n space i dentifie d
with perio d {3 in the imaginary time coor dinate r.
A n example of a curve d spacetime in which the su bstitution r = it
gives a positive definite metric that is pe rio dic in imagin ary time is the
Schwarzschil d solution
(3 . 3 )
Putting r = i t makes the metric positive definite fo r r > 2 M. There i s an
apparent singularity in the metric at r 2M but, as in the Lorentzian
=
case , it can be removed by defining a new coordinate,

(3.4)
34 2 S. W. Hawking
The metric then takes the form
(3.5 )
The apparent s ingularity in the . x-r plane at x = 0, r = 2 M is then just

like the singu larity in the metric in polar coordinates p, () at p 0 , =
ds2 = p2 d92 + d p2 • (3.6)

Thus the metr ic (3.5 ) is regular a t x 0 if r/4 M is regarded as an
=
angular coo r dinate and is ident ified with perio d 2 11:, i .e . if r is ident ified
w ith period 8 n:M. This shows that quantum field theory defined on the
Eucl idean Schwa r zschild metric corresponds naturally to a state at
temperature T (8 n:M) - 1 .
=
Of more interest in cosmology is De S itter space which is a solution of

the Einstein e quat ions with a cosmological constant A. This can be
expressed in the form
ds2 = -dt2 + (� 2
)
cosh 2 Ht dQ�, (3.7 )
where H 2 !A and dQ� is the metr ic on a unit three -sphere . One can
=
regard t h is as a homogeneous isotropic spacet ime which collapses from

infinite ra dius to a minimum ra dius of H - 1 and then re-e xp an ds
exponent ially . Putting r = it converts this to the positive definite metric
on the four-sphere,
ds2 = dr2 + (� 2
)
cos 2 H r dQ�. (3.8 )
The orbits of o/ or are great circles of longitu de on the four-sphere . Thus ,

the metric ( 3 . 8 ) is perio dic in the imaginary time coor dinate r w ith
H.
perio d 2 11:/ Thus, quantum fiel d theory define d on the Eucl idean De
Sitter metr ic correspon ds to a state at temperatu re T = H/2 n .
4. GUT era inflation
The stan da r d hot Big Bang mo del represents the universe by a

Fr iedmann -Robertson -Walker met r ic,
(4 . 1 )
w here k 1 for a closed universe , k

= 0 for a flat, open u n iverse and
=
k = - 1 for a hyperbol ic, o pen un iverse. The Un iverse is su ppose d t o start

off in thermal e qu il ibr ium at infin ite temperature T at the in it ial
s ingular ity t0, = R(t)0 . As the u n iverse e xpan ds , the temperature
=
drops but most of the cons t ituents of the mo del remain near to thermal
equ il ibr ium unt il the temperature falls to a few thousan d degrees, at
wh ich po int the electrons and l ight nucle i recomb ine a n d cease to be in
e qu il ibr ium w ith the p hotons. This mo del has been very successful in
accounting for the m icrowave backgroun d ra diation a n d in pre dicting
the abundances of the l ight elements l ike deuter ium, hel iu m an d l it h ium .
However, it has a nu mber of featu res w h ich are not e xpla ined but are
merely assume d as in it ial con dit ions . A mong these are :
(1 ) (The hor izon pro blem )
The m icrowave ra diat ion com ing from different direct ions in the sky
has the same temperatu re to one part in 1 0 3 • One coul d u n derstan d this
if the ra diation came fro m regions wh ich.. coul d have been in thermal
e qu il ibr ium w ith each other. However , in the sta n dar d model , the
ra diat ion com ing from direct ions wh ich differ by more than a few
degrees was last scattered in reg ions wh ich had not been in causal
contact w ith each othe r s ince the in it ial s ingularity (see fig . 1 ).
Fig . I. A conformal d iag ram of the hot Big Bang model. T he pasts of different reg i ons
on the surface of last scattering of the mi crowave backg round do not in tersect.
(2 ) (The flatness proble m )

The present average dens ity p o f the un iverse is w ith in a factor o f ten
of the crit ical dens ity Pc that character izes the flat k 0 mo del an d
=
w h ich sep arates the mo dels that recollapse from those w h ich e xpan d
in defin itely . In or der for Q PIPc to be w ith in a factor of ten of unity
=
344 S. W. Hawking
now, it wou l d have had to have been much closer at ea rl ier times . For
example, at t = 1 s, IQ - 1 1 < 1 0 - 1 9•
(3) (The smooth ness problem )
I f the universe h a d been in thermal equ il ibrium at very early times,
one woul d have expected statist ical fluctuat ions of o r der N 1 12 in the
number of particles in a given region, where N is the e xpected number.
Because different regions were not in causal contact (the hori zon
problem ), the fluctuations woul d have been fro zen in an d wou l d have
caused fluctuations in Q much larger than is compatible with the
isotropy of the microwave backgroun d.
(4) (The monopole problem )
Gran d Un ifie d Theories of the strong, weak an d electromagnetic
interact ions pre dict the existence of superheavy magnet ic monopoles
with masses of the order of 1 0 1 7 GeV . In the sta n dar d model, large
numbers of these monopoles woul d be pro duce d when the temperatu re
fell below the Gran d Un ifie d Energy of about 1 0 1 5 GeV because the
direct ions of symmetry breaking woul d be different in different regions
as they were not in causal contact with each other (cf. the hor izon
problem ). The predicted number of monopoles woul d be about fou rteen
orders of magn itu de greater than the upper limit that can be place d
from the average density o f the universe an d from the existence of
galact ic magnetic fiel ds .
(5 ) (The baryon problem)
Our gala xy contains baryons but no sign ificant number of
antibaryons . We do not have direct evi dence about other gala xies but
the absence of any strong sources of annih ilatio n ra diation makes it
seem likely that they are compose d by baryons too . If this is the case,
the ratio of the number of baryons in the universe to the number of
0
photons is about 1 0 - s to 1 0 - 1 • Th is number is une xplained in the
stan dard m o de l .
(6) (The cosmological constant )
In principle one coul d measure the cos mological constant by
determ in ing the Hubble Constant or rate of expansion H =
R/
deceleration parameter q0 - RH 2 . In practice, observat ional
=
R/R
an d the
uncertainties prevent one from obtaining more than an upper boun d

lq0I < 5 bu t this gives a very low upper limit,
0
� < 10- 12 '
2
mp
where mp is the Planck mass . By contrast , there are a number of

symmetry br c;aking effects which woul d be expecte d to gi ve
contributions to the effective cosmological constant of at least forty
o r ders of magnitu de greater than the observ ational upper limit . They
woul d have to be incre dibly finely balance d against each other an d
against the bare value of the cosmological constant .
I shall not discuss the cosmological co nstant problem here but it can be
argue d that, if one has some mechanism, such as a three -index
antisymmetric tensor fiel d or topological fluctuat ions , wh ich can
generate a cosmologi cal constant of arbitrary magn itu de, t hen zero is by
far the most probable value for the total cosmological constant
( Hawking 1 98 3a, b ) . The baryon nu mber of the universe can be
explaine d by invoking Gran d Unifie d Theories of the strong, we ak an d
electromagnetic interactions . These allow process es in which baryon
number is not conserve d. If one also su pposes that these processes are
not invariant un der C P, then the non -T invariant situation in the e arly
u niverse will pro duce an e xcess of baryons over antibaryons of the orde r
o f 1 0 - 9. Problems ( 1 ) t o (4) remain however . In an attempt t o provi de
an e xplanation of th em, Guth ( 198 1 ) propose d to so -calle d I nflationary
Mo del of the Universe . I shall describe first the original version of the
model an d then the improved "new Inflationary M o del " propose d by
Lin de ( 1 982). I shall point out a flaw in the original formulation of both
the ol d an d new mo dels an d shall show how it can be co rrected by
defining the fiel d theory in a Eucli dean i .e . positive definite metric. The
material in this section is base d mainly on Hawking an d Moss ( 1 982,
1 98 3) an d Hawking ( 1 982, 1 98 3) .
4.1. The old Inflationary Model

One assumes, as in the stan dard hot Big Bang mo del, that the universe
st arte d off appro ximately in therma l equilibrium at t he Planck
temperature 10 1 9 GeV an d coole d as it e xpan ded. At temperatures much
above the Gran d U n ifie d Energy of 1 0 1 5 GeV, the effective potential
V ( <l> ) of the Higgs scalar fiel ds woul d have the form shown in fig . 2, with
a minimum only at zero value of </>.
The expectatio n value (</>) woul d therefore be zero an d the Gran d
Unifie d Symmetry wou l d be unbroken . As the universe e xpan de d a n d
the temperature fell, t h e form of V(<l> ) woul d change an d i t wou l d
develop another local minimum for =F 0 . At a temperature � o f order
I0 1 5 G �V, the other minimum woul d occur at the same value of the
p otenti al as the minimum at 0 (see fig . 3 ). However, because of the
=
34 6 S. W. Hawking
V (<l>)
Fig. 2. T he f o rm pf the effective potential of the Higgs scal a r fiel d s tZi at a tempe rature
significantly above the G rand Unified E nergy 1015GeV. The ex pectation value (tlJ) lies at
the minimum a t tZi =0 and the G rand U nified Symmetry i s u n bro ken.
potential barrier between the two minima, (rJi) woul d remain at zero
an d the symmetry woul d remain unbroken . As the universe continue d to
expan d, the temperature woul d fall to a low value an d the other
minimum woul d fall below that at rJi = 0 (see fig . 4 ) . The scalar fiel d
woul d however remain trappe d in the metastable state (rJi) = 0 . The
energy density of the universe woul d come to be dominate d by the
nonzero value V(O) of the potential in the metastable state . This woul d
act like a cosmological constant an d woul d cause the universe to expan d
V (<l>)
Fig. 3. At a c ritical tempe rature T., of the order of 1015 G eV the effective potential ha s
another local minimum for tZi f 0. H o w ever, the expectati on value (tlJ) remai n s at ze ro.
Fig. 4. At low tem peratu res the minimum at tZi f 0 falls below that at tZi = 0. However, the
ex pectation value i s t rapped in a metastable state at tZi = 0 by a pote n tial ba rrier. Eventually,
t he expectation value tu n nel s qu antum mechanicall y through the potential barrier to the
broken symmetry state at tZi f 0.
e xponentially with R (t) oc exp(Ht) where 3H 2 8 nmp-2 V( O) . Eventually

=
the scalar fiel d woul d tunnel quantum mechanically through the barrier
from (cP) 0 to the global minimum at
= (cP) cP0
at whic h the Gran d
Unifie d Symmetry woul d be broken . The tunnelling was su ppose d to
=
occur through the formation of a bubble of the broken symmetry phase

su rrounded by the unbroken symmetry phase (see fig . 5) (Coleman
19 77) . The bubble wou l d ap pear as a result of a quantum fluctuation . It
woul d expan d an d woul d collide with other bubbles to give a transition
from the metastable state of unbroken symmetry to the sta ble state of
broken sym metry . The value of the potential at (cP) cP0
was suppo se d
t o b e zero, s o this wou l d en d the perio d o f exponential expansion an d
=
the universe woul d continue to expan d as in the stan dar d mo de l .

In a n exponentially expan ding universe, the pasts o f a n y two points
Bubble
wall ___.,..._ <cii>·o
Fig. 5. The quantum tu n n elli ng from the meta sta ble state of u nbroken symmetry at tZi = 0
to t he broken symm etry state at tZi = tlJ0 takes pla ce by t he fo rmation of a bubble of the
h rok en symmetry state su rrou nded by the u n broken symmetry state. The bubble walls
accelerate outwards and eventually collide wi th t he wall s of other bubbles.
348 S. W. Hawking
will intersect . (One says that there are no particle horizo ns.) This woul d
solve the horiz on problem (1) because different reg ions of the universe
cou l d have been influ ence d by a common region in the past . On the
other han d, the past of a time-like worl d line of constant spatial position
will not comprise the whole universe . The boun dary of the past of the
worl d line of an observer is cal l ed the "event horizon " of the observer. I n
the exponentially expan ding perio d o f the universe a n y inhomogeneities
or anisotropies will get ex pan de d to beyon d the event horizon a n d the
metric will ten d to the De Sitter solution within the event horizon, i .e .
within a region of size H - 1 . This woul d solve the s moothness problem
(3 ) because, in the I n flationary Mo del, the whole of the presently
observe d universe woul d have evolved from the region within one event
horizon in the exponential perio d. It woul d also solve the flatness
problem (2) because any initial spatial curvatu re, that is, any departu re
from Q = 1, woul d be re duce d to a very small value by the exponential
expansion . Finally, the monopole problem (4) wou l d also be sol ve d
becau se the number o f monopoles would be o f the o r der o f the nu mber
of bubbles in the ob served universe, and this number would be s mall .
Indeed, as will be seen below, this is the main drawback of the original
Inflationary Mo del .
4.2. The new Inflationary Model
During the exponential expanding phase, the temperature of the universe

would fall to a very low value . When bubbles of the new broken
symmetry phase formed, the vacuum energy V( O) of the unbroken
symmetry phase wou l d go mostly into accelerating the walls of the
bubbles . When the walls collide d, this energy wou l d be thermalize d an d
w ou l d reheat the universe to a temperature near the Gran d Unified
Energy 10 1 5 GeV . However, in or der to solve the horizon, flatness an d
smoothness problems it was necessary to suppose that there was a lon g
perio d of exponential ex pa nsion . This meant that the rate of bubble
formation per unit spacetime volume ha d to be small compare d to
But in this case, when the bubbles di d eventually form, they woul d be
H4•
often beyon d each other 's event horizons so that only a few bubbles
woul d collide . This woul d have pro duce d a very inhomogeneous
universe which woul d not have been compatible with the observations o f
the isotropy o f the microwave background (Guth a n d Weinber g 1 9 81 ,
Hawking et a l . 1 982).
This difficulty in the original ur "ol d" I n flationary Mo del w as
overcome by the suggestion of Lin de ( 1 982) that at low temper atu res t he
S. W. Hawking 349
barrier in the effective potential between the symmetric an d broken

symmetry states was very low or was a bsent altogethe r an d that V(<P)
ha d the "Coleman-Weinberg " ( 1 97 3 ) form at <P = 0, i .e .
a2v = o.
a<P2 (4 .2 )
A similar suggestion was made by Albrecht an d Steinha r dt ( 1 982 ). The

expectation value < <P) wou ld be ze ro when the tempe r ature of the
universe was high . A s the temperature fell an d the barrier in the
potential disappeare d, < <P) was suppose d to move away or fluctuate
from zero (I shall return to this question in sec tion 4 . 3 ) . It wou l d then
start running down the slope of the effective potential (see fig. 6 ) .
V ()
Fig. 6. I n the new I nfl a ti o nary Model there i s su p p os ed to be no poten tial ba rrier at low
tem peratu res. T he ex pecta ti on value (<P) sta rts to ru n down-hill to the gl obal mi nimum
at <1>0• Because the potential is assumed to be very flat near <P = 0, the i ni ti al ra te of
ru ndow n is low and the u ni verse expands ex ponentiall y by a large factor.
Because of the Coleman -Weinberg con di tion (4 .2), it woul d move only
slowly at first an d t he. value of the potential woul d be almost unchange d.
One cou l d therefore have a long perio d of exponential expansion, as
before . Eventually, when (<P) got ne ar the global mini m u m at <P0 it
wou l d start to cha nge rapi dly an d wo u l d oscillate about <P0. These
oscillations of (<P) coul d be regar de d as a very large nu mber of Higgs
pa rticles in a coherent state . The universe wou l d cease to expan d
ex ponentially an d woul d expan d like a matter- dominate d Frie dmann
u n iverse with R(t) t2/3 .
oc The Higgs p articles wou l d decay into light
particles and wou l d reheat the universe to a tem perature near the Gran d
Un ifie d Energy, 1 0 1 5 GeV . The universe wou l d then expan d with
R(I) rx 1112•
This "new " Inflationary Mo del has the a dvan tages of the
3 50 S. W. Hawking
ori ginal mo del but manages to exit from the exponentially expa n ding
period without creating large amounts of inhomogeneity . One woul d
ex pect however , that the scalar fiel d <P wou l d sta rt running down the hill
of the effective potential at different times in different places . This wou l d
give rise t o a universe with a spectrum o f a diabatic perturbations that
was scale free in the sense that the relative amplitu de fJp/p was the same
on all length scales at the time that the \ength scale was equal to the
expansion time H - 1 (Hawking 1 982, Guth a n d Pi 1 982). Such a
spectru m of perturbations cou l d account for the formation of galaxies
but the pre dicte d amplitu de, at least in the simplest Gran d Unifie d
Theories, was greater than unity rather than less than the up per limit of
about 1 0 - 4 set by observatio ns of the microwave backgroun d. I shall
consider pertu rbations in more detail in section 4 .4 .
4.3. Euclidea n formulation of the Inflationary Model
During the exponentially ex pan ding perio d, the metric within the event
horizon of an observer will ten d to that of the De Sitter solution . This
means that quantum fiel d theory within the event horizon will be almost
the same as in De Sitter spa ce . As explained in sectio n 3, quantum fiel d
theory in De Sitter space can be formulated on the Eu di dean version of
the De Sitter space metric, the four-sphere . The results can then be
analytically continued back to the Lorentzian De Sitter metric . This
approach has th e great a dvantage that the quantum state of the fiel ds is
well define d by the con dition that the path integral is taken over all fiel d
configurations that are regular o n the four-sphere. This corresponds to a
state at temperature H/2 n . By contrast, if one wo rks entirely in the
Lorentzian metric, it is not clear what quantum state one shou l d use or
how one shou l d define it.
There is a problem which arises when one tries to define quantum
fiel d theory on a compact manifol d, like the four-sphere, rather than on
a non-compact manifol d of infinite volume, like flat Euclidean space .
This is that, in a theory which is invariant un der <P-+ - <P, the
expectation value (<P) is always zero in the limit that J-+ 0, where J is
the source coupled to <P describe d in section 2. The reason is that the
configuratio ns <P an d - <P are equally probable . This is true also in flat
Eucli dean space . However, in this case the amplitu de to tunnel from <P
to -<P is zero because the action of a fiel d configuration which wen t
from <P at r = oo to
- - <P at r = oo woul d be infinite as the three
volume is in finite. This means that the expectation value (<P) can be
nonzero even in the limit J -+ 0 . However, in a co mpact manifol d, t he
- (
ampl itu de t o tunnel from <P t o <P w ill b e nonzero so that <P) w ill be
zero when J 0 . One there fore canno t use the formal ism descr ibed in
=
sect ion 2 in wh ich the effect ive act ion I' was define d a � a funct ional o f
the expectation val ue <P) . (
One can overcome th is problem by a dding to the act ion a term
f <P( x)K ( x, y) <P( y) dv_,, dvY, (4 .4)
where K ( x, y) is a two-point funct ion couple d to the H iggs fiel d

( Hawk ing a n d Moss 1 98 3 ) . One t hen defines W( K) as be fore by
integrat ing over all fiel d configurat ions on the four-sphe r e :
exp( -W( K)) = fd[<P]exp(-T[<P]). (4.5 )
By funct ionally different iat ing W w ith respect to K one obta ins the t wo
po int correlat ion funct ion for <P,
bW
(<P(y)<P(x)) = = p(y, x) . (4.6 )
bK(x, y)
Tak ing x y a n d regula r iz ing , one obtains (<P2 ( x) ) . One can also
=
calculate an effect ive act ion r as a funct ion of p(x, y) :
I' = W- f K(x, y) p(y, x)dv_,, dvy. (4.7)
One can evaluate th is to one loop in the inflat ionary u n iverse

r !tr [ (
= D
+ m 2 ) p og p + r 0
- -I ]
+ f dv,,
3e4
2 log [ M 2 (e2 Pt +2tH 2 )] ,
327t2 Pt
-
(4.8 )
= ( )
where Pt(x) p x, x REN = (<P2 ( x) ) , e is the gauge coupl ing constant , m
is t he effect ive mass o f the H iggs fiel d inclu ding any coupl ing to the scalar
curvature , M is a renor mal izat ion consta nt , and I'0 is the vacuum energy
i n the unbroken symmetry phase (Hawk ing an d Moss 1 9 8 3 ) . The first
term in (4.8) is the effect ive act ion o f a free scalar fiel d expresse d as a
function o f p. The second term is a constant wh ich is a dded to the
a c tio n to ma ke the effective cosmological constant zero in the broken
symmetry phase in w h ich (<P2 ) <P�. The last term is an effect ive <P4
=
interaction wh ich is in duced when one per forms the path integral over
the gauge fiel d. Note the extra term in the logarithm wh ic h removes the
352 S . W . Hawking
usual infrare d divergence at <P 0 . Th is arises because the four-sphere is

=
compact . The der ivative of the e ffective action with respect to p is the
source term K,
br
= -K( y, x) . (4.9 )
bp(x, y)
Thus, the e quation of motion fo r p is
br
(4 .10 )
=
0'
bp
3e4
(- D +m 2 ) p(x, y) = b(x, y) - AP (x) p(x, y),
16 11:2 1
(4 . 1 1)
where A. is the logarithm in eq. (4.8 ) an d the variat ion of the logarithm
has been neglected.
In the hot early stages of the universe, the sym m etry woul d have been
unbroken an d ( <1>2 ) would have ha d the thermal value cT2 , where c is a
numer ical constant of order one . As the universe expanded, the
temperature T wou l d have droppe d until the vacuum energy dom inate d
over the therma l energy. The universe wou l d then have entere d an
exponent ial expan ding stage with
m2
_P
H2 =
(4.12 )
nro
As the tem perature fell to the De S itter value H /2 11:, ( <1>2 ) woul d have
fallen to the o r der of H 2 at some time t t0• The su bse quent evolu tion
=
of (<1>2 ) wou l d have been governed by e q. (4. 1 1 ). If m 2 « H 2 , as is

necessary for the new I n flationa ry Mo del, ( <1>2 ) will in itially increase
linearly with t ime,
H3
(<1>2 ) :::::: ( t-t0) . (4 . 1 3)
4 11:2
When (<P2 ) becomes greater than e-2 H 2 at time t t 1 t0+(4 ne2 H ) - 1 ,
=
=
the nonlinear terms in e q. (4 . 1 1 ) will become importan t . The solution is

then
(4. 1 4)
0
where t2 - t :::::: A.- ·5e- 2 H - 1 • Equat ion (4 . 1 4) ho l ds unt il t ime t3 , w here
1
t3 -t2 H - 1 , i . e . unt il about one expans ion t ime before t2 • After t his
=
(<1>2 ) 2 M2
of e-
will increase to, a n d oscillate about, its symmetry breaking value
in a time short compare d to H When 1• (<1>2 )
has this large
- -
value, the tunnell ing between an d can be neglecte d a n d one can
treat the system as hav ing a large expectation value (), as before . The
osc illat ions of (<1>2 )
can again be rega r de d as a large num ber of scalar
particles in a co herent state . They w ill decay an d reheat the universe to
a temperature near the Gran d Unifie d Temperature . The subse quent
evolution of the universe will be the same as in the stan da r d hot Big
Bang mo del .
4.4. The growth of irregularities in the Inflationary Model
At the beginning of the inflationary peri o d at

correlation functionp(xx, y) (<l>y (x )<l>(y))
= will be of or der
t t0, H2 •
the two-point
=
One can
calculate it for points an d on later surfaces of constant t ime . For
t < t3 ,
p(x , P1 (t)+Po(x ,y),
Y) =
(4 . 1 5 )
w here p0(x ,y)
is the analytic continuation o f the Green function o n the
four-sphere with the I 0 mo de pro jecte d out, i.e.
= is the p0(x ,y)
solut ion of
(- D +m2 )p0(x,y) b(x ,y)- 3H4

=
Sn2 , (4 . 1 6)
Po(x ,y)::::: - 4n2H2 Iog(Hlx- yl), H-1 ,

lx - yl » (4. 1 7 )
constant t. x y
where Ix - yl i s the proper distance between an d o n the surface of
The expectat ion value (<1>2 )

w ill be constant on surfaces of constant
time but there w ill be spat ial fluctuations in <1>2
w hich will be
descri be d by the two-point funct ion
(<1>2 (x )<l>2 (y)) (p1 (t))2 +2 p1 (t)p0(x,y).
= (4. 1 8 )
It i s conven ient t o change to a new t ime coordinate,
is constant on surfaces of constant <1>2 : t+bt,
r = w hich
bt(x )-bt(y) <1>2 (yi>)1 (t<1>) 2 (x )

=
-
. (4 . 1 9 )
Th e energy -moment u m tensor will b e nearly constant on these su rfaces

bec ause it is dom inate d by the potential term in the e ffective act ion an d
3 54 S. W. Hawking
this is a function of <P2• However, there will be fluctuations bH in the

rate of ex pansion H:
bH = tLI&. (4.20)
These fluctuations will be characterize d by the two-point function
(bH(x)bH(y)) =
9��;
P1v; x, y)
(4.21)
t3
Before time one can neglect the gravitational effects of the fluctuations
in the Higgs fiel d and treat the spacetime as De Sitter space . After t3
the universe will reheat an d become ra diation dominate d in a time short
compare d to the expansion time H-1. The details of the reheating do not
matter apart from the fact that is occu rs simultaneously in the f coor dinate .
Local conservation of energy will then imply that the ra diation-dominated
universe starts off with a uniform energy density but with fluctuations in
the rate of expansion given by (4.21) with t = t3 :
;,, (e2 )2 4
(bH(x)bH(y)) = - - H-2lx-yl- . (4.22)
9n2 4n
Comoving regions that are separate d by more than the horizon distance
will evolve like i n depen dent Frie dmann universes with the same initial
density but different initial rate of expansion . Equation (4.22) will
continue to hol d until Ix yl = H-1, i .e. unt il x an d y are separate d by
-
one expansion distance . The amplitu de bH/H of fluctuations at this ti me

will be
(�)1/2 !t_
(4.23)
9n2 4n '
in de pen dent of the scale of the fluctuation . One therefore has an exactly
scale-free spectrum of perturbations as sugg este d by Ha rrison (1970) an d
Zel'dovic h (1972). The amplitu de given by (4.23) is smaller than previous
estimates by Hawking (1982), Guth an d Pi (1982) a n d Bar deen et al .
(1982). For stan dard GUTs for which e2/4n 4� 1/40, it woul d still be
inconsistent with the upper limit of about 10- given by observations of
the isotropy of the microwave backgroun d. However, in the case of super
symmetric GUTs, the effective self-coupling of the Higgs fiel d woul d be
smaller because the fermion loops contribute with the opposite sign to
the vector loops . The pre dicte d fluctuations might therefo re be in
agreement with the universe that we see aroun d u s .
5 . Quantum gravity
In the previous sect io ns I have cons idere d quantum fiel d theory on a

fixe d un quant ize d curved space backgroun d. Th is is a goo d
approximation at the GUT era because the typical energies are 10-4of
the Planck energy a n d so quantum fluctuat ions of the grav itat ional fiel d
a re un important . However, if we want to un derstan d the or igins of the
universe, one has to go back to the Planck era an d inclu de the
gravitat ional fiel d in the path integral . In the cases of the black hole an d
De Sitter met r ics c onsi dered in sect ion 3, it was poss ible to rotate the
metric (signature -
time coordinate to imaginary values an d to pass from a Lorentz ian
+ + +) to a Eucl idean metric (signature + + + + .
However, in the case of a general Lorentzian metric, it is not possible to
)
fin d a section in t he complexifie d manifol d on wh ich the metric is real
an d Eucli dean . Similarly, a general Eucli dean metric wil l not have a
section on which the metric is real an d Lorentzian . One therefo re has to
dec ide whether to -ta ke the path in tegral to be over all Lorentzian
metrics or over all Eucli dean metrics . I shall take the poin t of view tha t
t hese two are e quivalent in the sense of contour integration . I shall show
t hat the Wheeler-D e Witt e quation, the analogue of the Sch roe dinger
equation, is the same in the two cases but that the form of the
w avefunction determines whether the quantum state correspo n ds to a
Lorentzian or a Eucli dean geometry in the classical limit . I shall use a
path integral over all Eucli dean (i .e . positive definite ) metrics because
t his allows a simple formulation of the boun dary con ditions that I wish
to impose . It also ma kes the path integral non -oscillatory although there
)
is still a problem with convergence because the Eucli dean action of the
gravitational fiel d is not positive definite (Gibbons et al . 1978 . I shall
show how to deal w ith this in section 6.
)
This sect ion an d sections 7 and 8.1 a re base d on Hartle an d Hawking
( 198 3 . I shall assu me that the probability for a four-metric g an d a
matter fiel d con figu ration <P is proportional to
,,
.
exp - l[g,, ¢],
,, (5.1)
w here l is the Eucli dean action
l[g ,,
,,
¢] �: [- f 2Kh 1 2
= d3 x
vM
- f(R-2A+ �; L(g,,.,</J)) g 1 12 d 4xl (5.2)

M
3 56 S. W. Hawking
where hii is the three-metric on the boun dary 8M an d K is the trace of

the secon d fun damental form of the boun dary . The surface term in the
action is necessary because the curvature scalar R contains secon d
derivatives of the metric ( York 1 972, Gibbons an d Hawking 1 97 7,
Hawking 1 9 79a ) . The physics of the universe is governe d by
probabilities of the form ( 5 .1 ) for all four-metrics 9 "" an d matter fiel d
configurations belonging to a certain class C. The specification of the
class C determines the quantum state of the universe . This will be
consi dere d further in section 7 .
In practice, one is normally in tereste d in the probability, not o f the
enti re four-metric, but of a more restricted set of o bservables . Such a
probability can be derive d from the basic probability (5 .1 ) by integrating
over the unobserve d quantities . For example, one woul d like to define
a wavefunction which describes the quantum state of the universe "at
one time " in a manner similar to that in which one define d a
wavefunction for a scalar fiel d as a functional of the fiel d configurations
on a surface of constant time. The analogue of a surface of constant time
is a three-dimensional submanifol d S. One coul d therefore define the
wavefunction as a functional of the metric an d matter fiel d
configurations of S. In fact, only the components hii of the metric that lie
in the three-manifol d S have any invariant meaning because the other
components can be given any value by a coordinate transformation
(gauge transformation ) which leaves S unchange d. Similarly, there is no
invariant way to specify the time coordinate of the surface S. In fact, the
three-metric hii determines where S fits into the four-manifol d M with
metric 9µ.v· The wave function 'P is therefore a functional only of the
three-metric h;i an d the matter fiel d configurations ¢ on S. In t h e case of
noncompact asymptotically flat three-manifol ds S, the three-metric hiJ
does not uni quely s pecify the position of the surface at infinity . In this
case, the wavefunction depen ds also on the time coo r dinate of S att
infinity . However, it does not see m that the unive rse is asymptotically
flat, though I shall return to this point in section 7. I shall therefore
assume t hat the wavefunction 'P[hii, ¢ ] is a functiona l only of the three
metric an d the matter fiel d configurations . It is given by a path integral
over all Eucli dean four-metrics 9"" an d matter fiel d configurations
belonging to the class C which have S as their boun dary 8M an d which
agree with the given three-metric hii an d matter fiel d configuration on S
(see fig . 7 ) :
'P[hii, ¢ ] = f d[g".Jd[¢ ]exp - l[9"., ¢ ]. (5 .3)

c
hij•f
s
J
F ig. 7. T he amplitude or wa vefu nction 'l'[hu, ¢] is gi ven by i ntegrati ng over all four
g eometries and ma tter fi eld configu rations belongi ng to the cl ass C, whi c h are bounded
by the three-su rface S and which agree wi th the given three-metric hu an d matter fi eld
configu ra tion ¢ on S.
Note that one integrates only over the four-geometries on one si de of S.

This gives one an amplitude lJ' for the given three-geometr y
matter fiel d configu ratio n ¢ . The probability
an d the
of fin ding a three IJ'IJ'* hii
manifol d with the given metric
be represente d by a path integral over four-metrics
h ii
an d matter fiel d configuration ¢ can
on both si des of g""
S (see fig . 8 . )
The w avefunction IJ'[h ;_;.
¢ ] obeys a functional differential e quation,
t he Wheeler-De Witt e quation, which is the analogue of the
Schroedinger e quation . This can be derive d directly from the path
integral definition (5 .3) as follows . In the neighbourhoo d of the surface
+1 r
S, one can intro duce a time coordinate
t he metric takes the stan dard 3 form :
which is constant on S so that
ds2 (N2 -N;Ni )dr2 +2N1dx ;d r+hiidx ;dx i.

= (5 .4)
The action then becomes
1 � fd 3xdrh 1 i2 N[K . .K _ K2
I'g
•L "' ] =
""''I"
m i
for •1
- 3 RW1)+2A-16n mp- 2 L(</J ) ], (5 .5 )
where Kii is the secon d fu n damental form
(5.6)
358 S. W. Hawking
c*
h ij ·4>
Fig. 8. T he pr o babili ty 'l''I'* of fi nd i ng a thr ee- surfa ce S with t he gi ven thr ee-m etric and
m atter field configur ation i s given by i n tegrating over all four-g eom etries and m a tter fi eld
configurati o n s on both sides of S.
R
an d a stroke an d 3 denote the covariant derivative an d scalar curvature
constructed from t he three-metric hii.
The functional integral defining the wavefunction contains an integral
over N. By va rying N
at the surface one pushes it forward or backwa r d
i n time. Since t h e wavefunction d oes not depend on t i me one must have
0 =
fd[gµ,]d[¢J (:� )exp(-l[.q11.,¢] ). (5 .7 )
c
Classicially t he field equation H =

constraint for general relativity. It is :
bl/bN = 0 1s the Ham ilton ian
H = - h 1 12 ( Kii KlJ . . - K +3 R 2A+ nmp T. )

2 - 8 - 2 nn = 0' (5 .8 )
where T,,0 i s t he Eucl idean stress energy tensor o f t he matter field

pro jected in t he direction normal to the surface. One can substitute t h e
expression (5 .8 ) for bl/bN
i n ( 5 .7 ) . T h e second fundamental form K;; can
be expressed in terms of the funct ional operator fJ/{Jhi i:

tJl
{Jhij =
mp
1 6 1!
h i12 (K .. -h.
IJ
. K).
IJ
(5 .9 )
T h is identity can be der ived by vary ing t he metric in the defin it ion of the
act ion (5.2 ) . The t ime derivat ive of t he var iat ion of the metric can be
removed by integra t ing by parts in the normal manner . T h is produces a
surface term which is fJh;i
t imes the right-hand side of (5 .9 ) . S im ilarl y, the
t ime der ivat ives of the matter fields ¢ can be expressed in terms of the
operator fJ/fJ¢ .
U s ing these su bst itut ions in (5.7 ), one obta ins the
Wheeler-DeW itt equation,
(5.1 0 )
where Giikl is the met r ic on su perspace, the space of a ll three-metrics h;i:

G;ikl th 1 12 (h ;kh i1+h ;1h ik - h i h kl).
= (5.1 1 )
There is a question of the factor ordering in t he funct ional
d ifferent iat ion but it w ill not be im portant in the s ituat ions that I shall
consider . The W heeler -DeWitt equat ion is the same as t he equat ion one
would have obta ined had one started out w ith a pat h in tegral over
Lorentz ian met r ics . One can also cons ider variat ions w it h in t he three7
surface S generated by the "Shift " vecto r N;:
(5.1 2 )
T h is equat ion impl ies that the w a vefunct ion is in var iant under
d iffeomorph isms, i .e. t hat tp is a funct ional of the three-geometry and
not of t he part icular t hree-metric h;i·
The metric
s ignature ( -+G;+;k+l ++
on su perspace, . the space of three-geometries , ha s a
) . The Wheeler-DeWitt equatio n ca n therefore
be thought of as a hyperbol ic equat ion on su perspace w it h a s the h 1 '2
t ime coord inate. I shall show that the sem iclass ical approx imat ion to the
path integral g ives the boundary cond it ions for the W heeler -DeWitt
equation at small h 1 12 •
The Wheeler -DeW itt equat ion can then be
so lved to give the values of the wavefunct ion at larger values of In h 1 12 •
a Lorentz ian metr ic, h 112
0 would be a s ingularity . However, t h is is
=
360 S. W. Hawking
not necessaril y t he case in a Euclidean metric as can be seen b y

consi dering t he example o f a four-sphere o f ra dius
five- dimensional space : a surface
embedde d in flat
l x 51
< R intersects t he four-sphere in a
R
three-sphere of nonzero ra dius . However, when = the three lx 51 R,
geometry . I n dee d, h 1 12
sphere shrinks to zero ra dius but there is no singularit y of the four
has to go to zero if the topology of the three
surfaces is to change .
By this construction, the wavefunction [ ii </J] vanishes for three
metrics hii which are not positive definite, i .e . for which the determinant
'l' h ,
h of the metric is negative . This means that is not a quantum
observable with an unrestricte d range and that in man y cases it is more
hii
an d Km�/l2n, t he momentum conjugate to
ii
convenient to replace it by ii• the three-metric up to a conformal factor,
One can then define a h 1 12•
wavefunction in this representation b y
<J> ii i, K, </J J
[ i ] = d[g,..] exp - J k [g,.., </J] , (5 .1 3 )
c
where J k [B ,. v•
an d h;i are kept
</J] is the action appropriate to the situation in which
fixed on the boun dar y rather than hu.
I t differs from t he
K
action g µ v•i[ </J] in that the surface term has a different coefficient, �K
'l' h • 2K.
rather than
of [ ii h </J]
is the Laplace transform
00
<J>[hi.;. K , </J] = f ( - �: fd 3xh1'2 K ) 'l'[hu,

d[h1 ' 2 ]exp <jJ] . (5. 1 4 )
0
Similarl y, 'l"[hii• </J ] <J> ii , K, </J],

is the inverse Laplace transform of [ ii
'l'[hu, </J] f [2�! K] (�! fd 3xh 1 ' 2 K ) <J>[iili, K,</J] ,

= d
i
exp ( 5 .1 5 )
r
where the contour r runs from - i 00 to

<J> ii K,
singularities of [ ii• <P] in the complex
+K
i 00 to t he right of an y
plane . Providing t hat
<J>[h;_;, K,
</J] does not diverge exponentially for large Re
contour will ensure that [ ;_;. 'l' h K</J]
0 for h112 K,
this choice of
< 0 because one can close
=
the contour in t he right half plane.

6 . The conformal factor
T he Euclidean gravitation action is
i[g] = - �: { f (R - 2A)g 1 ' 2 d4 x + f }

2 Kh1 ' 2 d3 x . (6 .1 )
m om
Un der a conformal t ransfo rmation Uµv = D 2 gµ••
i[gJ = - �: { f< f }
R Q 2 +6(VQ ) 2 - 2 A Q 4 )g 1 12 d 4 x+ 2 .02 Kh1 12 d3 x .
m
(6.2)
One can make the action arbitrarily negative by choosing a conformal
factor which is rap i dly varying. T his behaviour does not in dicate a real
instability . In fact the fluctuations of the conformal facto r are cancelled
out by the ghosts . Th is lack of positivity is closely relate d to the fact that
gravitational potential energy is negative because gravity is attractive .
Nevertheless, in t he classical theory the total energy, rest mass energy
plus potential energy, is always positive for an isolate d system . What
happens is when t he negative potential energy becomes large an d
threatens to overwhel m the rest mass energy, a horizon fo rms and the
system collapses to a black hole. T he energy of a black h ole is always
positive (Gibbons et al. 1 983 ) .
What happens i n the quantum theory i s rather similar . One can divi de
the space of all metrics gµ• into equivalence classes u n der conformal
t ransformations. In each equivalence class one can rotate the contours of
integration over the conformal factor at each point so that it is parallel
to the imagina ry axis . T his makes t he kinetic term
- m� f
16n
6(VQ ) 2 g 1 12 d4 x (6 .3 )
m
positive definite . The cosmological ter m
m f
�
16n
2A Q 4 g 1 12 d 4 x (6.4)
m
will be positive provi de d that A > 0 an d will dominate t he term
- m f
�
16n
RQ 2 g 1 12 d4x. (6.5 )
m
362 S . W . Hawking
Thus the pa th integral over t he conformal factor for each conformal

equivalence class of metrics will converge with this prescription. T he
positive action ·theorem indicates that the path integral over di fferent
conformal equivalence classes of metrics will also con ve rge.
For certain conformal equivalence classes of metrics there will be a
real function Q(x) such that
can distort t he contour of the
l[iiQ2g] is a local maxim u m . In this case one
integration at each point x so that it
crosses the real Q Q
saddle point in the
axis at D(x). In this case Q(x) will be the dominant
integration and the path integral over the
conformal factor will be of the order of e - l[il'u] .
Note that there may be more than one extremum of
Q l[Q2g]
real axis but t he dominant contribution comes from the one with the
on the
greatest action, and not the least action as one might have expected .
Indeed, as I have shown above, l[ Q2g] does not have an y minimum on
the real axis. I n section 8. 1 , I shall show an example in which there is
more than one extremum of l[Q2g] Q
on t he real axis and I will give an
independent argument to show that the dominant contribution to the
path integral comes from the extremum which has the greatest value of
the action.
For other equivalence classes of metrics there will n ot be an y real Q(x )
which makes l[D2g] a local max imum. I n these cases the dominant
points Q(x). At t hese saddle points l[iiQ2.q]

contribution to the path integral over will come from complex saddle
will be com plex. The saddle
point contribution of order e - T[ il '.q] will have an oscillating phase and
will tend to cancel out with the contributions from neighbouring
conformal equ ivalence classes of metrics unless the y satisfy the classical
field equations. Thus, one would expect these conformal equivalence
classes of metrics to produce a rapidly oscillating path integral and to be
damped un less they contain a complex solution of the field equations. I
shall show an example of this in section 8 . 1 .
7. The boundary conditions
In this section I shall discuss the boundary conditions for the class C of
metrics that determines the quantum state of the universe. In the case of
positive cosmological constant A an y nonsingular, geodesically complete
positive definite metric which is a solution of the field equations is
necessarily com pact. Its four-volume is bounded b y the solution with
highest degree of s ymmetry, whic h is a four-sphere of rad ius J3iA .
Thus, in the case o f positive A i t seems clear that one should d o the path
in tegral over compact metrics. That is to say, the wavefunction l/' [hii<P]
s hould be defined by a path integral over all compact metrics and scalar
field configurations which have the su rface S as the boundary on which
they match the given three-metric hu and matter field configuration ¢.
In the case of zero or negative A there are solutions of' the field
equations which are not compact and which have infinite four-volume.
The solutions with t he greatest symmetry are flat Euclidean space and
Euclidean anti-De Sitter (ADS ) respectively. (Euclidean A DS is the
homogeneou s space 0(4, 1 )/0(4)). Thus one might think tha t one should
choose the class C to be asym ptotically Eucl idean metrics or
asymptotically A D S respectively. This is appropriate if one is
considering scattering problems in which one sends waves in from
infinity and then measu res what comes back to infinity. In this situation
one is interested only in metrics which are connected to infinity. If there
were any disconnected compact parts t hey would not con tribute to the
scattering of particles coming from infinity. However, in cosmology, one
is interested in measurements in one's immediate neighbourhood, not at
infinity. If one adopted asymptotically Euclidean or A D S boundary
conditions, one would also have contribu tions from disconnected metrics
which consist of a compact metric and an asymptotically Euclidean or
A DS metric. One cannot exclude d isconnected metrics from the path
in tegral because t hey can be approximated by connected metrics in
which the different components are joined by t hin tubes with negligible
action. Similarly, topologically nontrivial metrics can be approximated
arbitrarily closely by topologically trivial metrics. It turns o ut that the
disconnected metrics tend to dominate the path integral because the
compact metrics can have negative action. Thus, even if one adopted
asymptotically Eucl idean or asymptotically ADS boundary conditions,
the wavefunction that one would derive would be almost t he same as
that which one would obtain from compact metrics. I shall therefore
assume that the class C should consist of compact metrics. It should be
emphasized that this is a proposal for the boundary conditions of the
u n iverse. One cannot derive it from other principles. One can merely
show that it is reasonable, and what could be more reasona ble than the
boundary condition t hat the universe has no boundary ? The ultimate
test, however, is to show that it predicts a universe like the one that we
live in. I shall attempt to do this for a simple model in section 8.2.
364 S. W. Hawking
8. Minisuperspace
In order to in vestigate whether the boundary cond itions proposed in

section 7 correspond to the quantum state of the universe that we live in,
one would like to calculate the wavefunction P[hu, <P] and see if it can
be interpre ted as predicting what we observe. This is equivalent to
finding a sol ution of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation obeying certain
boundary conditions. The Wheele r�De Witt equation is a second-order
hyperbolic differential equation on an infinite-dimensional manifold,
superspace. We do not know how to solve such an equation but we can
hope to get some idea of the nature of the solution by considering the
equation restricted to a finite-d imensional submanifold called
minisuperspace. In other words, one restricts the infinite number of
degrees of freedom of the gravitational and matter fields down to a finite
number. The W heeler-DeWitt equation then becomes a wave equation
on a finite-d imensional manifold and can be solved by standard
techniques. The boundary conditions for the Wheeler-De Witt equation
can be obtained from the semiclassical approximation to the pat h
integral, i.e. by expressing the wavefunction i n the fo r m
P[hu, </J] N0 L A; exp - B1, (8. 1 )

i
=
where N0 is a normalization constant, and B; are the actions of classical

solutions of the field equations which are compact and which have the
<P
given three-metric h ii and matter field configuration on the bounda ry.
The prefacto rs A 1 are given by the determinants of small fluctui;ttions
about the classica l solutions. I shall not bother with them but only with
the more important quantities B1 which appear in t he exponential.
8. 1 . De Sitter space
The first example of a minisuperspace that I shall consider is that for a

homogeneous isotropic universe with no matter fields but with a positive
cosmological constant A . Even t hough this is a very simple example, it
will be useful because it will ind icate how one should interpret the
wavefunction. I shall show that it corresponds in the classical limit with
the classical solution of highest symmetry, De Sitter space.
The metric of a homogeneous isotropic Euclidean space can be written
in the form
(8.2 )
where N (r ) is the la pse function, u 2 = 2/3 n mt and dQ� is the metric on a

three-sphere of unit radius. The action is
(N) [ - {N } a da 2 4]
I
-
I 21 d r -;- - a 2 + A.a , (8.3 )
dr
=
where ). = u 2 A/3 . The Wheeler-De Witt equation is
� [_!._ � ( �)
2 aP 8a
aP
8a
- a 2 + A.a4 ] If'[a J = Q. (8.4)
The index p represents some, but not all, of the ambiguity m the factor
ordering in the Wheeler- DeWitt equation. Its value will not make a
great difference to the nature of the solution.
The wavefunction lf'(a) is given by a path integral over all compact
metrics of the form (8.2 ) which are bounded by a three-sphere of radius
a. These metrics are all conformally flat. The semiclassical
approximation to the path integral will be given by the solu tion of the
classical field equations with a A term. If a < H- 1 where H 2 A., there =
are two solutions. They co_rrespond to the two regions into which a
three-sphere of radius a divides a fou r-sphere of radius H- 1 (see fig. 9).
The actions of t hese metrics are
(8.5 )
where the plus sign is the action that corresponds to filling in the three
sphere with more t han half the fou r-sphere and the minus sign is the
4-spheres of radius H -i
i i
3-spheres of radius a
Fi g. 9. There a re two solutions of the field eq uati on s for a compact four- geo metry which i s
bo un ded by a three- s p h e re of rad ius a < H - 1 • They correspond to fi l l i n g in the three
sphere with more or with less than half a fo ur- s phere of radi us H - 1 •
366 S. W. Hawking
action for less than half the four-sphere. According to the discussion in
section 6, the dominant contribution to the path integral will come from
the greater of these conformally related actions, i.e. frdm L (a). I shall
derive the same result in another way below. The semiclassical
approximation to the wavefunction is therefore
'P(a ) � (� 31 )
N 0 exp 3 2 [ 1 - ( 1 - H2 a 2 ) 2 ] , Ha <
(8.6 )
If a > H - 1 , t here is no real solution of the field equations because a
three-sphere of radius a cannot pe fitted into a fo ur-sphere of radius
H - 1 . The dominant contribution to the path integral ITT- er the conformal
factor will t herefore come from a saddle point which is not on the real
axis, i.e. from a complex solution of the field equations. To see what this
solution is, it is helpful to use t he K representation of the wavefunction
rather than the hii one.
The semiclassical approximation to the wave function <l>(k ) is
(8.7 )
where k = u K/9, N k is a normalization factor, B; are the actions of

classical solutions which are bounded by a three-sphere with the trace of
the second fundamental form equal to K, and the prefactors A; are given
by the determ inants of small fluctuations about the classical solutions . In
the case under consideration, there is a unique classical solution for all
values of K with action
jk =
1
- __ 1 -
3H2
( 3k
(9k 2 + H 2 ) 1 1 2
.
J (8. 8 )
The wavefunction 'P(a ) can then be obtained b y a n inverse Laplace

transform of <l>(k),
'P(a ) � N�
2m
f dk exp(ka 3 - l" ), (8.9 )
r
where the contour I' is parallel to the imaginary k-axis . The integral
(8.9) can be evaluated by the method of steepest descent. If Ha < 1 ,
there are two stationary phase points a t real values o f k which are equal
in magnitude and are opposite in sign . They are t he two values of k at
which a three-sphere of rad ius a would fit into a four-sphere of radius
H - 1 • T he values of t he exponent in (8.9 ) at these two stationary points

l
are equal to ± (a ) with the plus sign corresponding to k < 0 and the
minus sign correspond ing to k > 0, i.e. to filling in the t h ree-sphere with
more than half and with less than half the four-sphere, respectively.
There are complex stationary phase points of (8.9 ) but they give
contributions which are smaller than t hose of the real stationary phase
points described above. The steepest descent contour is shown in fig. 1 0.
lmk
Branch cut ___
Stationary
phase points
f
-- +--' Rek
Branch cut ___
Fig. 1 0. The steepest descen t contour for the in verse La place transform in the case a < H - 1 .
I t pa sses throug h the station a ry phase po int at positive k but does n o t pa ss throug h that
at n ega tive k.
I t passes through the stationary phase point at positive k but not

t h rough that at negative k. The value of t he wavefunction is t herefore
'l' (a ) ;:::: N k exp( - L (a )). (8. 1 0 )
This agrees with (8.6 ).
If Ha > 1 there a re no stationary phase points on the real k-axis
hecause one cannot fit a three-sphere of radius a > H - 1 into a four
sphere of radius H - 1 . There are however stationary phase points at
k = + -H
i
- 3
( --)
l -
1 1 /2
(8. 1 1 )
H2a2
It is possible to distort the contour r to pass through both of them (see

fig. 1 1 ).
There a re o t her stationary p hase points but they give a smaller
368 S. W. Hawking
lmk
Branch QJt ____ ,,
Stationary
phase points ,--Jl
- lJ'
Rek
Branch QJt ____.
Fig. 1 1 . The steepest descent contour for the in verse Laplace tran sf orm in the case a > H - 1 •
I t passes through the two stationary phase points a t positive a n d n egative i maginary k.
n]
contribution to (8.9 ). The wavefunction therefore has the form
'P (a ) � --f
N
exp
( 1 2 ) cos [ ( H 2 a 2 - ) l 312
- 4 . (8. 1 2 )
3H ( 3 H2 )
One can put this form of solution into the Wheeler-De Witt equation
and solve for the amplitude prefactor A. One finds
( 8. 1 3 )
The inner product that makes the Wheeler-De Witt operator Hermitian
IS
f 'P (a ) 'P * ( a )aP da . (8. 1 4 )
The wavefun ction is therefore normalizable.

In order to interpret this wavefunction it is helpful to consider the
classical Loren tzian solution with a A term. This is De Sitter space,
(8. 1 5 )
where a = H - 1 cos Ht. It represents a space which colla pses from infinite
radius down to a minimum radius of H - 1 at t = 0 and then re-expands
exponentially. The wavefunction (8.6) and (8. 1 2 ) is t he quantum version
of this. For a less than t he classical minimum radius H - 1 the
wavefunction is exponentially small. This is what one would expect for a

radius that was classically forbidden. For a greater than t he minimum
radius the wavefunction oscfllates with constant amplitude. This means
t hat any values of a greater than H - 1 occur with roughly equal
probability. In fact, one can write the cosine in (8. 1 2 ) in t he form
exp(i H a 3 /3 ) + exp ( - iHa 3 /3 ). (8. 1 6 )
The two terms in (8. 1 6 ) come from t he two stationary phase points at
positive and negative imaginary Euclidean K , i.e. at positive and
negative real Lorentzian K L . One can therefore identify them with the
collapsing and expanding phases.
The De Sitter example shows t hat one can interpret t he wavefunction
'P as correspond ing to a Euclidean or a Lorentzian geometry according
to whether the operator
is positive or negative, i.e., accord ing to whether the wavefunction is

exponential or oscillatory in a. If a < H - 1 , the wavefunction is
exponential in a. T his corresponds to a Euclidean or classically
forbidden Loren tzian regime for the wavefunction. If a > H - 1 • the
wavefunction oscillates. This corresponds to an allowed Lorentzian
regime. Thus the wavefunction provides its own interpretation.
8.2. Our Universe ?

The De Sitter exa mple was useful because it showed how one could
solve the Wheeler-De Witt equation and apply the boundary conditions
in a simple case. It also illustrated how one could interpret the
wavefunction over t hree-geometries in terms of fou r-geometries in the
classical limit. H owever, if there are two facts about our u niverse of
which we are reasonably certain, one is t hat it is not exponentially
expanding and t he ot her is that it conta ins matter. I n order to try to
ge t a model which resembles our u n ive rse more closely, H artle and I
(Hartle and H awk ing 1 983) considered the next-simplest model, a
homogeneous, isotropic universe with a conformally invariant scalar
field cjJ which was constant on the t hree-sphere sections. The Wheeler
De Witt equation takes the form
[ a a 2
1 1 4 a2 2 ] I/I [
- - - aP - - a + A.a - - + X
2 Qpaa iJa 8x 2 a, X J = 0, (8. 1 7 )
370 S . W. Hawking
where = x (na/u)¢j2. The advantage of using a conformally invariant

scalar field ¢ is that the Wheeler-DeWitt equation separates, i.e. there
are solutions of the form
i/J (a, x) C (a)f(x).
= (8. 1 8 )
The function f obeys the harmonic oscillator equation
( - +x ) j'
d2
2 1·
dx 2 = E . (8. 1 9 )
It is therefore natural to take f to be t he harmonic oscillator

wavefunction with eigenvalue E = n + �- The equation for the
corresponding function c. t hen is the Schroedinger equation for zero
angular momen tum in p + 1 dimensions with a potential
V (a) a 2 - A.a4
= (8.20 )
(see fig. 1 2 ).
V (a)
Vrnax
Unbound
solution
F ig. 1 2. The effective potentia l for the W heeler- De Witt equation for a minisupe rspace model
with a con forma l l y inva ria nt sca la r field. If the separation constant E is less t ha n the
maximum of the potential, there are cla ssica lly bound solutions with a < a 1 and unbound
solutions with a > a2 > a 1 • Quantum mechanically, there is tunnell ing between the bound
and unbound sol utions.
If the sepa ration constant E is less than the maximum value Vmax of
V (a), there are classically two kinds of allowed solutions : bound
a
solutions in w hich varies from zero up to some maximum value a 1,
value a2 a a
and unbound solutions in which is always bigger t han some minimum
> 1 . Quantum mechanically there will be tunneling between
the bound and unbound solutions. One can therefore get a wavefunction
which corresponds in the classical limit to a unive rse w hich expands
from a = 0 up to a maximum value a .= a , and the n recollapses to

1
a = 0, but w hich has a small probability of tunneling t h rough the
potential barrier to a De Sitter-like state of indefinite ex pansion. In
order for such a sta te to be a model of our universe A w ould have to be
less tha n 1 0 - 1 20, and n would have to be greater than 1 0 1 20. The
tummeling probabil ity would be of the orde r of e - 10' 2 0 •
One can ask w hich is t he quantum state of t he unive rse which is
picked out by the boundary conditions of performin g a path integral
over compact metrics as described in section 6. It turns ou t that this is
the state with n = 0. In t his state the matter wavefunction is just
f(x ) = e - x 2 12 . (8.2 1 )
a nd the gravitation al wavefunction is just that of a De Sitter space as
described in section 8 . 1 . The quantum state determined by t he boundary
conditions of section 7 does not therefore resemble t he universe that we
live in. For this reason, Hartle and I proposed that t his quantum state
should be regarded as the "ground state" or state of minimum excitation
of t he universe but t h at the universe we live in is a linear superposition
of t he other "excited state" solutions w it h higher values of n. This meant
t hat we lost any ability to predict t he quantum state of t he universe
because we had no means of determining t he complex coefficients of the
excited states in the su perposition.
The reason that the introduction of t he scalar field <P does not change
the gravitational wavefunction of the state determined by t he boundary
conditions of section 7 is that <P is conformally invarian t. It t herefore
d oes n ot couple to t he only gravitation degree of freedom in the model,
which is a conformal degree of freedom. In order to get a wavefunction
w hich is more like our universe, it seems necessary to put in matter fields
w hich are not conformally invariant. I therefore considered t he simplest
example, w hich is a massive scalar field <P minimally cou pled to the
gravitational field. I got the idea for this from a talk given by Linde at
t he S helter Island conference in June ( Linde 1 98 3). The Wheeler-DeWitt
equation is
! [_!__ !.._
2 aP Ca
aP !.._
Ca
- a2 + ).a4 - _!__ �
a2 o </> 2
( 8.22)
+ a4m2 <P2 J 'l' [ a , <P] = 0, (8.23 )
where m is the mass of the scalar field. One can regard t his as a
wave equa t ion in the (a , <P ) plane. The causal structure of t he W heeler-
372 S. W. Hawking
DeWitt equation is seen more easily by introducing new coordinates,

x = a sinh </J, y = a cosh </J. (8.24)
In these coordinates, the second derivatives take the form
o2/oy2 - (J2/o x2 ; thus, the characteristics are lines at 45° in the (x, y )
plane. The region a > 0 is mapped into the interior of the future light
cone of the origin (see fig. 1 3 ).
Fig. 1 3. The cau sa l structure of the Wheeler - De W itt equation can be seen in coordinates
(x, y) in which the second der i va t i ves take the form iJ2/i'Jy2 - iJ2/i'Jx2• The region a > 0 is
mapped into the i nterior of the futur e l ight cone of the origin .
The surfaces of constant <P are straight lines through the origin and
the surfaces of constant a are spacelike hyperbolae within the light cone.
If one knew the solution on t he l ight cone of t he origin, one could
solve the wave equation by standard techniques. The light cone is the
surface a 0, <P = ± oo . I t is t herefore rather hard to apply the
=
boundary conditions of section 7 t here, but what I s hall do is use the

semi-classical approximation to the path integral to estimate the form of
the solution on lines of constant large positive or negative </J.
In order to apply the semi-classical approximation, one needs to know
the solutions to the classical field equations. One can express the metric
in the form
(8.25 )
One is interested in metrics which are compact. Thus a will be zero at
some value of r which can be chosen to be zero. A t r = 0, d</J/dr must
be zero, one can then integrate t he equations for a (r ) and </J (r ) with the
initial conditions
da 1 d </J
a = 0, = <jJ = <jJ0, = 0 at r = 0.
dr dr
'
Fig. 1 4. Graph of. the radius a and the scalar field c/J for a solution of the Euclidtan field
L!q uations.
As r increases, c/> (r ) and d cf>/dr will monotonically inc rease and da/dr
will monotonically decrease (see fig. 14 ).
What happens is that the positive energy density of t he m 2 c/> 2 (r) term
i n t he action behaves like a positive cosmological constant and causes
t he four-geometry to have positive curvature. The three-sp here radius
a ( r ) rises to a maximum am•• w hich is a monotonically decreasing
function of c/> 0 . The radius a(r ) then decreases and becomes zero at a
singularity of the four-geometry. If c/>0 > 1 then c/>(r) d oes not increase
much by the time a (r ) reaches a ma x > and a ma x :::: 1 /mc/>o (see fig. 1 5 ).
I n order to estimate the wavefuntion If' [ a, c/> ], one looks for a solution
( a ( r ), c/> (r)) which matches the given values of a and cf> at some value
r = r0. There are two possible kinds of solutions : those for w hich a (r )
d oes not equal Q m a x in the range Q � r � r 0 , and those for which it does.
By an argument similar to t he one in the De Sitter case, t he semi
classical approximation to the wavefunction is given by e - T for solutions
singularity
Fig. 1 5 . A Euclidean s o l u t i o n of the field eq uatio n s for a massive scala r field. The three
sphere radius a starts at zero at a regular point at the top of the d ia gram. It expa nds to
a m a x i m u m rad i u s am., and then contracts to a singularity at zero rad i u s .
3 74 S. W. Hawking
of the first kind but not for solutions of the second kind. However,
solutions of t he first kind do not exist for the given a and 1 and a > 1 /m</J. For such values of a and </J' t he solution w hich
determines t he semi-classical approximation to the wavefunction will be
complex and so the wavefunction will be oscillatory. We can estimate its
form by using t he fact that the action Jk [k, <P] for k > 0, 1 is
alsmost the same as in the De Sitter case with replaced by H2 m2 <jJ 2 •
Thus
</J(k, <P) :::: Nk exp Lm! </J2 [ (9k2 +�2 </J2 )1 12 ]}

1- • (8.26 )
One can do t he inverse Laplace transform as before to find
'P(a, </J) :::: Nk exp C � 2)

m as the
boundary condition for the Wheeler-DeWitt equation near the light
cone in the (x, y ) plane. One can then solve t he Wheeler-De Witt
equation as a wave equation with these boundary condi tions to determine
the behaviou r of the wavefunction at other values of a and <jJ. Because
the wavefunction is rapidly oscillating, one can use the WKB method.
One writes the wavefunction in t he form
'P(a, </J) = C (a, <jJ )cos S(a, </J ) , (8.27)
where S(a, <P) is a rapidly varying phase and C(a, <P) is a slowly varying
amplitude. The trajectories of VS in the (a, <P ) plane correspond to
classical Lorentzian solutions (a(t ), </J(t)) of the field equations. The semi
classical approximation for large <P corresponds to a classical solution
which starts with </J (t) <jJ . , d <jJ /dt 0, at a minimum radius
= =
a(t) 1 /m</J 1 at t 0, and then expands in a De Sitter-like manner. The

= =
mass term tends to make </J(t) decrease with a timescale 3 </J i /m. However,
the expansion rate H m<jJ 1 • Thu s if </J 1 > 1 the universe will expand by
=
a factor of order e3<1>i before <P decreases significantly. For large </J 1 t his
gives a long inflationary period. The existence of such a classical
solution was pointed out by Linde at the Shelter I sland conference.
Another minisu perspace model with an inflationa ry period has been
constructed by Moss and Wright ( 1 983 ).
Eventually </J (t ) decreases to zero and starts oscillating in time. The
universe goes over to a matter-dominated phase with a(t) oc t 3 The 21 •
Quant um cosmology 375
a.�
/singularity
�----l--+---+-+1'+1-'H-+--1--��-+-��+--<l-++�-+--+--+--+-....
t
Fig. 1 6. A graph of the rad i us a and the sca lar field c/J for time symmetric solutions of the
Lorentzian field eq uat io n s . The rad i us expa nds from a minimum to a m a x i m u m and then,
i n general, collapses to a sin gula rity.
universe will expand to a maximu m radius of order ( 1 /m¢ i ) exp (6¢f )

and then recollapse. I n general, it will recollapse to a singu la rity (see fig.
1 6 ). The solution is time symmetric about t 0 but not in general time
=
sy mmetry about t = t i · . the time of maximum expansion. H owever, for

discrete values of t he scalar field ¢ 1 the field ¢ (t) is zero at t = t i · In
these cases, the solution will be time symmetric about t = t i but with
¢ (t ) replaced by - ¢ ( t i - t). These solutions will therefore oscillate
indefinitely. There are also periodic solutions which a re not time
symmetric abou t the minimum radius bu t which are symmetric about
each maximum rad ius. The orbits of VS in the (a, ¢) plane correspond to
these periodic solutions. One thus obtains a wavefunction lf' (a, ¢) which
can be interpreted as a superposition of wavefunctions corresponding to
oscillating universes in t he classical limit (see fig. 1 7 ).
The wavefunction lf'(a, ¢ ) will grow exponentially in a region near
the y-axis in which a 2 m 2 ¢ 2 < 1. This part of the wavefunction can be
interpreted as corresponding to a flat Euclidean four-geometry. If one
w ished the wavefunction to be normaliza ble, one could introduce a tiny
). term to cut off the exponential growth at very large values of a.
S u perimposed on this exponentially growing wavefunction will be an
oscillating component which corresponds to the periodic solutions
described above. As was stated in section 8. 1 , the oscillating component
s hould be interpreted as corresponding to a Lorentzia n geometry and
t he exponential component as corresponding to a Euclidean geometry.
We live in a Lorentzian geometry and t herefore we are interested really
only in the oscillatory part.
376 S. W. Hawking
Fig. 1 7. A W K B orbit of VS in the (x, y) p lane. It correspon d s to a peri odic Lorentzian

solution of the field equations w i th a long period of exponential e x pa n s ion .
9. Conclusion
The hot Big Bang model seems to provide a good description of the
universe, at least, since the time of light-element forma tion. However, it
has a number of features, such as the large-scale homogeneity and
isotropy, w hich are not explained but are simply assumed as initial
conditions. Some of these featu res can be accounted for in the
Inflationary M odel which postulates that there was a period of
exponential expansion at the GUT era. However, it was still necessary to
assume that t he universe started off in thermal equilibrium at very high
temperature and that it was sufficiently smooth, isotropic and flat that it
expanded until the temperatu re fell to the Grand Unified Energy of
around 1 0 1 5 GeV. Any discussion of the initial conditions must involve
quantum gravity and a specification of the quantum state of the
universe. The quantum state is determined by the class of metrics and
field configurations that are summed over in the path integral. There
seem to be only two natural classes of Euclidean, i.e. positive definite,
metrics :
(a) Compact metrics ;
(b) Metrics that are asymptotic to a non-compact metric of maximal
symmetry such as flat Euclidean space or Euclidean an ti-De Sitter space.
Class (b) is appropriate to scattering problems in w hich one sends in
particles from infinity and measures what comes back to infinity.
However, it does not seem to be suitable for cosmological problems
where one is concerned with measurements, not at infinity, but in a finite
region in the middle of the space. If one used class (b) metrics in such a
situation, the path integral would be dominated by disconnected metrics
wh ich consisted of an asymptotically Euclidean or anti-De Sitter metric
and a compact metric connected to the region in which the
measurements were made. Thus, one would effectively have a class (a )
situ ation. Class (a ) boundary conditions also correspond to the idea that
the universe is co mpletely self-contained : it does not have any edge or
boundary, either at a singularity at finite distance or at infinity. One
could say that they incorporate Mach's Principle in th at they do not
allow an infinite asymptotic empty region.
The ultimate test of any proposed boundary cond itio ns for the
u niverse, however, is not that they are aesthetically appealing but that
t h ey predict a universe which corresponds to what we observe. In
section 8.2 I showed that in a simple minisuperspace model of a
ho mogeneous isotropic universe with a massive scalar field the boundary
conditions led to a wavefunction which could be interp reted as a
su perposition of states which corresponded to oscillating universes in the
classical limit. One migh t object that the wavefunction corresponded to a
whole family of diffe rent classical solutions rather than being sharply
peaked around one u nique solution. One could ask : which solution do
we observe ? I think however that one can resolve this apparent paradox
in the following way : imagine a quantum state that was sharply peaked
around a particular classical solution of the field equations. The
wavefunction for this state would also describe any intelligent beings
who existed in this universe and who measured its properties. Now
i magine another quantum state that was peaked around a different
classical solution. Any measurements made by intelligent beings in this
quantum state would correspond to the properties of the second
solution. One could now consider a quantum state that was a
su perposition of the two states peaked around different classical
solutions. Because of the linearity of quantum mechanics, there would be
no interference : measurements made by the intelligent beings in the first
universe would correspond to the properties of the first classical solution
a nd measurements made in the seco nd un iverse would correspond to the
second solution. What the specification of the boundary conditions, or
equ ivalently, the q uantum state of the universe does, is it determines the
relative probability of universes corresponding to diffe rent classical
solutions. In the c ase of the model considered in section 8.2, this
probability is proportional to something of the order of e x p (m - 2 1/> ! 2 ).
This is fairly flat for l/> 1 > m - 1 (there may be polynomial factors of l/> i ).
We must live in a solution which expands to a radius of at least 1 0 2 8 cm.
378 S . W. Hawking
Given this, the probability is then h igh that the universe will expand to a
radius much greater than this, i.e. that we live in a universe with Q very
near one.
The model of section 8.2 . has a long period of exponential expansion.
One would expect that this would reduce any inho mogeneties or
anisotropies if one put in these extra degrees of freed om. Thus it wou ld
have all the features of the Inflationary Model described in section 4,
with the additional advantage that it arose from a natural cho ice of
boundary co nd itions for the universe. The classical solutions that
correspond to the wavefu nctio n are period ic. Thus, if entropy or
disorder increases during the expansion phase, it must decrease during
the contraction phase. In fact this is a general feature of any
wavefunction determined by a Euclidean boundary co ndition like (a ) or
(b) above. The wavefunction cP(hi i, K , must be real for real Euclidean K.
This means that cP(hu, KL) cP* (hii• KL) for real Lorentzian KL. One
= -
can interpret this as implying that the state is time-symmetric in the

sense that the wavefunction in the contracting phase is the complex
conjugate of the wavefunction in the expanding phase. Despite this time
symmetry it is possible that there could be a well-defined arrow of time
as measured by local entropy inc rease during the expansion phase which
reversed during the contraction. Whether or not this is the case and
whether or not the arrow agrees with the direction of time defined by
the expansion remains to be shown.
There are many objections that can be raised against the
minisuperspace model of section 8.2, such as that an infinite number of
degrees of freedom have been neglected and all questions of finiteness or
renormalizability have been ignored. In my opinion the significance of
the model is not necessarily that it describes the actual universe but that
it shows that the boundary co nditions (a ) above can give rise to a
quantum state that corresponds to the universe that we live in. This and
the fact that there does not seem to be any natural alternative set of
boundary co nditions encourages me to believe that the boundary
conditions (a ) are correct. All that we would t hen need is a complete
consistent theory of quantum gra vity and the other interactions, and we
would be able to predict everyth ing, at least in principle.
References
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Coleman, S., 1 977, Phys . Rev . DIS, 2929 .
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Quantum Cosmology (1984)

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USMG NATO ASI

BRYCE S. DEWITT et RAYMOND STORA

Nt1rth-llt1/land Phy.�ics Publishing

Sole distributors for the U.S.A. and Canada:

El.�evier Science Publishing Company, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging In P11bllcatlon Data

Relativite,. groupes et topologie II.

"In an important sense this volume is a

Printed in The Netherlands

Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics

B.S. DeWitt and R. Stora, eds.

The subject of these lectures is quantum effects in cosmology. I shall deal

w hole un iverse a n d my att itu de to t hose who argue about the

The plan o f these lectures is a s follows :

inflationa ry mode l . I show how th is can be formulate d in Eucli dean terms

2. Euclidean quantum field theory

In this section, I shall motivate the Euclidean A pproach to qu antum

where J [ ¢ ] is the action of the fiel d configuration </J(x, t),

where H is the Ham iltonian functional operator.

the points x1 , r 1 ; Xi, i; Xi. ri; []

part of the time separations 1 - t ti, ti

r= W- I J(</J(x, r ) ) d3 xdr . (2 .9)

The source J can then be expressed as

be zero an d the g auge symmetry will be unbroken . However, if the

3. Quantum fields in curved space

Z({3 ) = L: exp( - {3E.), (3.2)

where E. is the energy of the configuration

case , it can be removed by defining a new coordinate,

The metric then takes the form

The apparent s ingularity in the . x-r plane at x = 0, r = 2 M is then just

ds2 = p2 d92 + d p2 • (3.6)

Of more interest in cosmology is De S itter space which is a solution of

regard t h is as a homogeneous isotropic spacet ime which collapses from

The orbits of o/ or are great circles of longitu de on the four-sphere . Thus ,

4. GUT era inflation

The stan da r d hot Big Bang mo del represents the universe by a

w here k 1 for a closed universe , k

k = - 1 for a hyperbol ic, o pen un iverse. The Un iverse is su ppose d t o start

(2 ) (The flatness proble m )

uncertainties prevent one from obtaining more than an upper boun d

where mp is the Planck mass . By contrast , there are a number of

4.1. The old Inflationary Model

e xponentially with R (t) oc exp(Ht) where 3H 2 8 nmp-2 V( O) . Eventually

occur through the formation of a bubble of the broken symmetry phase

the universe woul d continue to expan d as in the stan dar d mo de l .

4.2. The new Inflationary Model

During the exponential expanding phase, the temperature of the universe

barrier in the effective potential between the symmetric an d broken

A similar suggestion was made by Albrecht an d Steinha r dt ( 1 982 ). The

4.3. Euclidea n formulation of the Inflationary Model

f <P( x)K ( x, y) <P( y) dv_,, dvY, (4 .4)

where K ( x, y) is a two-point funct ion couple d to the H iggs fiel d

exp( -W( K)) = fd[<P]exp(-T[<P]). (4.5 )

calculate an effect ive act ion r as a funct ion of p(x, y) :

I' = W- f K(x, y) p(y, x)dv_,, dvy. (4.7)

One can evaluate th is to one loop in the inflat ionary u n iverse

usual infrare d divergence at <P 0 . Th is arises because the four-sphere is

of (<1>2 ) wou l d have been governed by e q. (4. 1 1 ). If m 2 « H 2 , as is

the nonlinear terms in e q. (4 . 1 1 ) will become importan t . The solution is

4.4. The growth of irregularities in the Inflationary Model

At the beginning of the inflationary peri o d at

(- D +m2 )p0(x,y) b(x ,y)- 3H4

Po(x ,y)::::: - 4n2H2 Iog(Hlx- yl), H-1 ,

The expectat ion value (<1>2 )