Marginal LTB models with corrections from loop quantum gravity have recently been studied with an emphasis on potential singularity resolution. This paper corroborates and extends the analysis in two regards: (i) the whole class of LTB models, including non-marginal ones, is considered, and (ii) an alternative procedure to derive anomaly-free models is presented which first implements anomaly-freedom in spherical symmetry and then the LTB conditions rather than the other way around. While the two methods give slightly different equations of motion, not altogether surprisingly given the ubiquitous sprawl of quantization ambiguities, final conclusions remain unchanged: Compared to quantizations of homogeneous models, bounces seem to appear less easily in inhomogeneous situations, and even the existence of homogeneous solutions as special cases in inhomogeneous models may be precluded by quantum effects. However, compared to marginal models, bouncing solutions seem more likely with non-marginal models.

Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi models as specific spherically symmetric solutions of general relativity simplify in their reduced form some of the mathematical ingredients of black hole or cosmological applications. The conditions imposed in addition to spherical symmetry turn out to take a simple form at the kinematical level of loop quantum gravity, which allows a discussion of their implications at the quantum level. Moreover, the spherically symmetric setting of inhomogeneity illustrates several nontrivial properties of lattice refinements of discrete quantum gravity. Nevertheless, the situation at the dynamical level is quite non-trivial and thus provides insights to the anomaly problem. At an effective level, consistent versions of the dynamics are presented which implement the conditions together with the dynamical constraints of gravity in an anomaly-free manner. These are then used for analytical as well as numerical investigations of the fate of classical singularities, including non-spacelike ones, as they generically develop in these models. None of the corrections used here resolve those singularities by regular effective geometries. However, there are numerical indications that the collapse ends in a tamer shell-crossing singularity prior to the formation of central singularities for mass functions giving a regular conserved mass density. Moreover, we find quantum gravitational obstructions to the existence of exactly homogeneous solutions within this class of models. This indicates that homogeneous models must be seen in a wider context of inhomogeneous solutions and their reduction in order to provide reliable dynamical conclusions.

Utilizing the Maldacena formalism and extending the earlier efforts to compute the scalar bi-spectrum, we construct a numerical procedure to evaluate the three-point scalartensor cross-correlations as well as the tensor bi-spectrum in single field inflationary models involving the canonical scalar field. We illustrate the accuracy of the adopted procedure by comparing the numerical results with the analytical results that can be obtained in the simpler cases of power law and slow roll inflation. We also carry out such a comparison in the case of the Starobinsky model described by a linear potential with a sudden change in the slope, which provides a non-trivial and interesting (but, nevertheless, analytically tractable) scenario involving a brief period of deviation from slow roll. We then utilize the code we have developed to evaluate the three-point correlation functions of interest (and the corresponding non-Gaussianity parameters that we introduce) for an arbitrary triangular configuration of the wavenumbers in three different classes of inflationary models which lead to features in the scalar power spectrum, as have been recently considered by the Planck team. We also discuss the contributions to the three-point functions during preheating in inflationary models with a quadratic minimum. We conclude with a summary of the main results we have obtained.

Effects of inverse triad corrections and (point) holonomy corrections, occuring in loop quantum gravity, are considered on the properties of Reissner-Nordström black holes. The version of inverse triad corrections with unmodified constraint algebra reveals the possibility of occurrence of three horizons (over a finite range of mass) and also shows a mass threshold beyond which the inner horizon disappears. For the version with modified constraint algebra, coordinate transformations are no longer a good symmetry. The covariance property of spacetime is regained by using a quantum notion of mapping from phase space to spacetime. The resulting quantum effects in both versions of these corrections can be associated with renormalization of either mass, charge or wave function. In neither of the versions, Newton's constant is renormalized. (Point) Holonomy corrections are shown to preclude the undeformed version of constraint algebra as also a static solution, though time-independent solutions exist. A possible reason for difficulty in constructing a covariant metric for these corrections is highlighted. Furthermore, the deformed algebra with holonomy corrections is shown to imply signature change.

Several properties of canonical quantum gravity modify space-time structures, sometimes to the degree that no effective line elements exist to describe the geometry. An analysis of solutions, for instance in the context of black holes, then requires new insights. In this article, standard definitions of horizons in spherical symmetry are first reformulated canonically, and then evaluated for solutions of equations and constraints modified by inverse-triad corrections of loop quantum gravity. When possible, a space-time analysis is performed which reveals a mass threshold for black holes and small changes to Hawking radiation. For more general conclusions, canonical perturbation theory is developed to second order to include back-reaction from matter. The results shed light on the questions of whether renormalization of Newton's constant or other modifications of horizon conditions should be taken into account in computations of black-hole entropy in loop quantum gravity.