| Summary: | We consider the superposition of two semiclassical solutions of the Wheeler–DeWitt equation for a de Sitter universe, describing a quantized scalar vacuum propagating in a universe that is contracting in one case and expanding in the other, each identifying the opposite cosmological arrow of time. We discuss the suppression of the interference terms between the two arrows of time due to environment-induced decoherence caused by modes of the scalar vacuum crossing the Hubble horizon. Furthermore, we quantify the effect of the interference on the expectation value of the observable field mode correlations, with respect to an observer that we identify with the spatial geometry.
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