Related papers: The Holst Spin Foam Model via Cubulations
I discuss the use of spinors in the construction of spin-foam models, in particular the form of the closure and simplicity constraints for triangles that are space-like, i.e. with (area)$^2=\half S^{IJ}S_{IJ}>0$, regardless of whether they…
We consider discretizations of the Einstein action of general relativity such that the resulting discrete equations of motion form a consistent constrained system. Upon ``spin foam'' quantization of the system, consistency allows a natural…
Hilbert spaces in theories of gravity are notoriously subtle due to the Hamiltonian constraints, particularly regarding the inner product. To demystify this subject, we review and extend a collection of ideas in canonical gravity, and…
This paper is twofold. First of all a complete unified picture of $n$-dimensional quantum gravity is proposed in the following sense: In spin foam models of quantum gravity the evaluation of spin networks play a very important role. These…
So far spin foam models are hardly understood beyond a few of their basic building blocks. To make progress on this question, we define analogue spin foam models, so called spin nets, for quantum groups $\text{SU}(2)_k$ and examine their…
Spin foam models for quantum gravity are derived from lattice path integrals. The setting involves variables from both lattice BF theory and Regge calculus. The action consists in a Regge action, which depends on areas, dihedral angles and…
Spin foam models, an approach to defining the dynamics of loop quantum gravity, make use of the Plebanski formulation of gravity, in which gravity is recovered from a topological field theory via certain constraints called simplicity…
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…
We describe here some new results concerning the Lorentzian Barrett-Crane model, a well-known spin foam formulation of quantum gravity. Generalizing an existing finiteness result, we provide a concise proof of finiteness of the partition…
We formulate the spin foam perturbation theory for three-dimensional Euclidean Quantum Gravity with a cosmological constant. We analyse the perturbative expansion of the partition function in the dilute-gas limit and we argue that the Baez…
The nature of the classical canonical phase-space variables for gravity suggests that the associated quantum field operators should obey affine commutation relations rather than canonical commutation relations. Prior to the introduction of…
Spin foam vertex amplitudes are the key ingredient of spin foam models for quantum gravity. These fall into the realm of discretized path integral, and can be seen as generalized lattice gauge theories. They can be seen as an attempt at a…
The Hamiltonian formulation of scalar-tensor theories of gravity is derived from their Lagrangian formulation by Hamiltonian analysis. The Hamiltonian formalism marks off two sectors of the theories by the coupling parameter $\omega(\phi)$.…
We propose a spin foam model for pure gauge fields coupled to Riemannian quantum gravity in four dimensions. The model is formulated for the triangulation of a four-manifold which is given merely combinatorially. The Riemannian…
Spin foams are models of quantum gravity and therefore quantum space time. A key open issue is to determine the possible continuum phases of these models. Progress on this issue has been prohibited by the complexity of the full…
We investigate the Hilbert space in the Lorentz covariant approach to loop quantum gravity. We restrict ourselves to the space where all area operators are simultaneously diagonalizable, assuming that it exists. In this sector quantum…
A temporally varying discretization often features in discrete gravitational systems and appears in lattice field theory models subject to a coarse graining or refining dynamics. To better understand such discretization changing dynamics in…
We construct a group field theory model for quantum gravity minimally coupled to relativistic scalar fields, defining as well a corresponding discrete gravity path integral (and, implicitly, a coupled spin foam model) in its Feynman…
We present a spin foam formulation of Lorentzian quantum General Relativity. The theory is based on a simple generalization of an Euclidean model defined in terms of a field theory over a group. Its vertex amplitude turns out to be the one…
Numerical methods in spin-foam models have significantly advanced in the last few years, yet challenges remain in efficiently extracting results for amplitudes with many quantum degrees of freedom. In this paper we sketch a proposal for a…