Related papers: The length operator in Loop Quantum Gravity
We discuss the extension of loop quantum gravity to topspin networks, a proposal which allows topological information to be encoded in spin networks. We will show that this requires minimal changes to the phase space, C*-algebra and Hilbert…
New results from the new variables/loop representation program of nonperturbative quantum gravity are presented, with a focus on results of Ashtekar, Rovelli and the author which greatly clarify the physical interpretation of the quantum…
The ingoing and outgoing null expansions associated to a spatial 2-sphere are quantized in the spherically symmetric model of loop quantum gravity. It is shown that the resulting expansion operators are self-adjoint in the kinematical…
In this article we introduce a new operator representing the three-dimensional scalar curvature in loop quantum gravity. Our construction does not apply to the entire kinematical Hilbert space of loop quantum gravity; instead, the operator…
Results that illuminate the physical interpretation of states of nonperturbative quantum gravity are obtained using the recently introduced loop variables. It is shown that: i) While local operators such as the metric at a point may not be…
We introduce a new operator representing the three-dimensional scalar curvature in loop quantum gravity. The operator is constructed by writing the Ricci scalar classically as a function of the Ashtekar variables and regularizing the…
In the last 20 years, loop quantum gravity, a background independent approach to unify general relativity and quantum mechanics, has been widely investigated. The aim of loop quantum gravity is to construct a mathematically rigorous,…
The phenomenology for the deep spatial geometry of loop quantum gravity is discussed. In the context of a simple model of an atom of space, it is shown how purely combinatorial structures can affect observations. The angle operator is used…
We introduce a quantum volume operator $K$ in three--dimensional Quantum Gravity by taking into account a symmetrical coupling scheme of three SU(2) angular momenta. The spectrum of $K$ is discrete and defines a complete set of eigenvectors…
Several proposals for Quantum Gravity involve length and area operators with discrete eigenvalues. I show that the analyses of some simple procedures for the measurement of areas and lengths suggest that this discreteness characterizing the…
We present a straightforward and self-contained introduction to the basics of the loop approach to quantum gravity, and a derivation of what is arguably its key result, namely the spectral analysis of the area operator. We also discuss the…
The building blocks of a quantum theory of general relativity are expected to be discrete structures. Loop quantum gravity is formulated using a basis of spin networks (wave functions over oriented graphs with coloured edges), thus…
We give a standard introduction to loop quantum gravity, from the ADM variables to spin network states. We include a discussion on quantum geometry on a fixed graph and its relation to a discrete approximation of general relativity.
Quantum states of geometry in loop quantum gravity are defined as spin networks, which are graph dressed with SU(2) representations. A spin network edge carries a half-integer spin, representing basic quanta of area, and the standard…
We introduce squeezed vacua in loop quantum gravity, a new overcomplete basis of states that contain prescribable correlations between geometric operators. We study the behavior of long-range correlations and discuss the relevance of these…
Quantum geometry, i.e., the quantum theory of intrinsic and extrinsic spatial geometry, is a cornerstone of loop quantum gravity. Recently, there have been many new ideas in this field, and I will review some of them. In particular, after a…
We construct in this article a new realization of quantum geometry, which is obtained by quantizing the recently-introduced flux formulation of loop quantum gravity. In this framework, the vacuum is peaked on flat connections, and states…
Recently, a new class of scalar constraint operators has been introduced in loop quantum gravity. They are defined on a space of solutions to the Gauss constraint and partial solutions to the vector constraint, called a vertex Hilbert…
We introduce a master constraint operator $\hat{\mathbf{M}}$ densely defined in the diffeomorphism invariant Hilbert space in loop quantum gravity, which corresponds classically to the master constraint in the programme. It is shown that…
A spin network is a generalization of a knot or link: a graph embedded in space, with edges labelled by representations of a Lie group, and vertices labelled by intertwining operators. Such objects play an important role in 3-dimensional…