Universal_wavefunction
Universal wavefunction
Quantum state of the entire universe
The universal wavefunction or the wavefunction of the universe is the wavefunction or quantum state of the entire universe.[1] It is regarded as the basic physical entity[2] in the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics,[3][4][5][6] and finds applications in quantum cosmology. It evolves deterministically according to a wave equation.[7]
The concept of universal wavefunction was introduced by Hugh Everett in his 1956 PhD thesis draft The Theory of the Universal Wave Function.[8] It later received investigation from James Hartle and Stephen Hawking[9] who derived the Hartle–Hawking solution to the Wheeler–deWitt equation to explain the initial conditions of the Big Bang cosmology.