Name: Charles Torre
Email: torre@cc.usu.edu
Affiliation: Utah State University, Dept. of Physics (professor)


Title:
Some Remarks on Inhomogeneous Quantum Cosmology


Abstract:
The polarized Gowdy model is used to illustrate the possibility that a
physically reasonable quantum theory of gravity does not allow for unitarily
implemented dynamics.  The failure of unitarity that occurs in this model is
an ultraviolet effect and is a direct consequence of the presence of an
infinite number of degrees of freedom contained in this model. Nevertheless,
the basic observables of the model appear to be perfectly well-defined for
all time and admit the usual probability interpretation.