Mini-superspace universality and no-scale quantum cosmology

Abstract

Abstract We prove that, at the mini superspace level, and for an arbitrary Brans-Dicke parameter, one cannot tell traditional Einstein-Hilbert gravity from local scale invariant Weyl-Dirac gravity. Both quantum mechanical cosmologies are governed by the one and the same time-independent single-variable Hartle-Hawking wave function. It is only that its original argument, the cosmic scale factor a, is replaced by aϕ (ϕ being the dilaton field) to form a Dirac in-scalar. The Weyl vector enters quantum cosmology only in the presence of an extra dimension, where its fifth component, serving as a 4-dim Kaluza-Klein in-scalar, governs the near Big Bang behavior of the wave function. The case of a constant Kaluza-Klein in-radius is discussed in some detail.