Hanno Sahlmann

Loop Quantum Cosmology: Who's afraid of the Bohr compactification of R?

Abstract:

I will give an introduction to loop quantum cosmology. In particular I will explain how it happens that a non-continuous representation of the Weyl algebra is its centerpiece, and what role the Bohr compactification of the real numbers plays. I will then discuss some recent results concerning quantum mechanics on the Bohr compactification - in particular the definition of the Wigner function - and how they may translate into physics.