Open inflation from quantum cosmology with a strong non-minimal coupling

We propose a mechanism of quantum creation of the open Universe in the observable range of values of Omega. This mechanism is based on the no-boundary quantum state with the Hawking-Turok instanton applied to the model with a strong non-minimal coupling of the inflaton field. We develop the slow roll perturbation expansion for the instanton solution and obtain a non-trivial contribution to the classical instanton action. The interplay of this classical contribution with the loop effects due to quantum effective action generates the probability distribution peak with necessary parameters of the inflation stage without invoking any anthropic considerations. In contrast with a similar mechanism for closed models, existing only for the tunneling quantum state of the Universe, the observationally justified open inflation originates from the no-boundary cosmological wavefunction. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.