Quantum Liouville cosmology
Abstract
Abstract We provide a detailed analysis of the disk path integral of timelike Liouville theory, conceived as a tractable and precise toy-model quantum cosmology in two dimensions. Disk path integrals with the insertion of matter field operators, taken along a judiciously chosen complex contour, yield states akin to the Hartle-Hawking wavefunction. Working in the fixed K -representation, where K is the trace of the extrinsic curvature, we compute the one-loop wavefunctions and put forward a conjecture for the all-loop expressions. A suitable pairing of Liouville disk path integrals yields a K -independent quantity that may form the basis for a well-defined inner product on the space of Euclidean histories. We also consider other ensembles, including one with fixed area, and provide a static patch perspective with a timelike feature.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Black Holes and Theoretical Physics
Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories
Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
- Publisher
- IOP Publishing
- Volume
- 2026
- Issue
- 06
- Pages
- 065–065
- Publication date
- 1 June 2026
- Language
- EN