  We present a complete quantization of an approximately homogeneous and
isotropic universe with small scalar perturbations. We consider the case in
which the matter content is a minimally coupled scalar field and the spatial
sections are flat and compact, with the topology of a three-torus. The
quantization is carried out along the lines that were put forward by the
authors in a previous work for spherical topology. The action of the system is
truncated at second order in perturbations. The local gauge freedom is fixed at
the classical level, although different gauges are discussed and shown to lead
to equivalent conclusions. Moreover, descriptions in terms of gauge-invariant
quantities are considered. The reduced system is proven to admit a symplectic
structure, and its dynamical evolution is dictated by a Hamiltonian constraint.
Then, the background geometry is polymerically quantized, while a Fock
representation is adopted for the inhomogeneities. The latter is selected by
uniqueness criteria adapted from quantum field theory in curved spacetimes,
which determine a specific scaling of the perturbations. In our hybrid
quantization, we promote the Hamiltonian constraint to an operator on the
kinematical Hilbert space. If the zero mode of the scalar field is interpreted
as a relational time, a suitable ansatz for the dependence of the physical
states on the polymeric degrees of freedom leads to a quantum wave equation for
the evolution of the perturbations. Alternatively, the solutions to the quantum
constraint can be characterized by their initial data on the minimum-volume
section of each superselection sector. The physical implications of this model
will be addressed in a future work, in order to check whether they are
compatible with observations.
