Quantum Cosmology in Page-Wootters' Framework: Singularity Resolution and Clock Coherence

Abstract

We investigate the fate of big-bang singularity and coherence between distinct clock states in a quantum cosmological setting within the Page-Wootters framework. With a canonically quantized plane-symmetric Bianchi I universe, we employ Dirac factorization of the Wheeler-DeWitt constraint and obtain a Schrodinger-like equation which is first-order in an internal clock variable. By constructing its solution as a Gaussian wave packet in the expanding branch, we derive the corresponding conditional state and probability density of the universe. We find that the conditional probability density vanishes in the zero-volume limit, indicating resolution of the big-bang singularity within this probabilistic framework. Another prespective of the study is provided by the construction of density matrix from the conditional states associated with different clock readings and the remaining degree of freedom. By tracing out the remaining subsystem, we obtain the reduced density matrix and analyze the resulting coherence as a function of separation between different clock states. These results provide a relational characterization of singularity resolution and demonstrate how the spectral properties of the quantum state govern the temporal coherence between different clock states in the Page-Wootters description.