English

Spin foams

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2015-06-15 v1

Abstract

The spin foam framework provides a way to define the dynamics of canonical loop quantum gravity in a spacetime covariant way, by using a path integral over histories of quantum states which can be interpreted as `quantum space-times'. This chapter provides a basic introduction to spin foams aimed principally at beginning graduate students and, where possible, at broader audiences.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1303.4636,
  title  = {Spin foams},
  author = {Jonathan Engle},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1303.4636},
  year   = {2015}
}

Comments

32 pages, 14 figures, 2 tables, to appear as a chapter of "The Springer Handbook of Spacetime," edited by A. Ashtekar and V. Petkov (Springer-Verlag, at Press)

R2 v1 2026-06-21T23:44:30.558Z