Observers, Alpha Parameters, and the Hartle-Hawking State: Part II

It was argued that any fixed holographic theory contains only one closed universe state and hence fails to give semi-classical physics. It was proposed that this problem can be resolved by including a classical observer living inside the universe. Earlier works focused on closed universes connected with asymptotic Euclidean boundaries. In this talk we examine the case of Hartle-Hawking state where the dominant Euclidean topology is a sphere. We show that different features emerge. We comment on the potential implications for the understanding of de Sitter space. Based on work with Daniel Harlow.