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Did our cosmos exist before the big bang? - space - 10 December 2008 - New Scientist
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20026861.500-did-our-cosmos-exist-before-the-big-bang.html?full=true

LQC is in fact the first tangible application of another theory called loop quantum gravity, which cunningly combines Einstein's theory of gravity with quantum mechanics. Theories like this work out what happens when microscopic volumes experience an extreme gravitational force, as happened near the big bang, for example. Ashtekar rewrote the equations of general relativity in a quantum-mechanical framework. ABHAY ASHTEKAR saw the universe bounce back while watching a simulation of the universe rewind towards the big bang. Mostly the universe behaved as expected, becoming smaller and denser as the galaxies converged. But then, instead of reaching the big bang "singularity", the universe bounced and started expanding again. The theory that the recycled universe was based on, called loop quantum cosmology (LQC), had managed to illuminate the very birth of the universe - something even Einstein's general theory of relativity fails to do.
"Ashtekar later used this framework to show that the fabric of space-time is woven from loops of gravitational field lines."
Did our cosmos exist before the big bang
Loop Quantum Cosmology posits a different beginning to the universe.