Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We study transition amplitudes of the quantum universe in $D$-dimensional spacetime within the de Sitter minisuperspace approximation in Einstein gravity. Using the Lorentzian path integral combined with Picard-Lefschetz theory, we identify the saddle points that contribute to the integral and derive a well-defined transition amplitude under Dirichlet boundary conditions. We further show numerically that a resurgence analysis based on Borel-Padé resummation is effective in resolving the residual Stokes ambiguities that arise in certain cases. Analyzing three-, four-, and five-dimensional cases, as well as the large-$D$ limit, we find that the tunneling proposal is commonly realized for the creation of the universe from nothing. This result implies a universal feature of quantum cosmology based on Einstein gravity across dimensions.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Institutions: RIKEN Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences, Saitama University, Kyoto University, Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka Central Advanced Mathematical Institute, Tokai National Higher Education and Research System, Kobayashi-Maskawa Institute for the Origin of Particles and the Universe, Nagoya University
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7214769143