Related papers: Gravity as BF theory plus potential

This article reviews the present status of the spin foam approach to the quantization of gravity. Special attention is payed to the pedagogical presentation of the recently introduced new models for four dimensional quantum gravity. The…

We study a generalized action for gravity as a constrained BF theory, and its relationship with the Plebanski action. We analyse the discretization of the constraints and the spin foam quantization of the theory, showing that it leads…

It is well known that, in the first-order formalism, pure three-dimensional gravity is just the BF theory. Similarly, four-dimensional general relativity can be formulated as BF theory with an additional constraint term added to the…

$BF$ gravity comprises all the formulations of gravity that are based on deformations of $BF$ theory. Such deformations consist of either constraints or potential terms added to the topological $BF$ action that turn some of the gauge…

We investigate a formulation of continuum 4d gravity in terms of a constrained BF theory, in the spirit of the Plebanski formulation, but involving only linear constraints, of the type used recently in the spin foam approach to quantum…

In loop quantum gravity we now have a clear picture of the quantum geometry of space, thanks in part to the theory of spin networks. The concept of `spin foam' is intended to serve as a similar picture for the quantum geometry of spacetime.…

We investigate a formulation of continuum 4d gravity in terms of a constrained topological (BF) theory, in the spirit of the Plebanski formulation, but involving only linear constraints, of the type used recently in the spin foam approach…

Spin-foam models are hoped to provide a dynamics for loop quantum gravity. These start from the Plebanski formulation of gravity, in which gravity is obtained from a topological field theory, BF theory, through constraints, which, however,…

Starting from Plebanski formulation of gravity as a constrained BF theory we propose a new spin foam model for 4d Riemannian quantum gravity that generalises the well-known Barrett-Crane model and resolves the inherent to it ultra-locality…

We give a very brief introduction to the group field theory approach to quantum gravity, a generalisation of matrix models for 2-dimensional quantum gravity to higher dimension, that has emerged recently from research in spin foam models.

It is known that the Einstein-Hilbert action with a positive cosmological constant can be represented as a perturbation of the SO(4,1) BF theory by a symmetry-breaking term quadratic in the B field. Introducing fermionic matter generates…

In the quest of a physical theory of quantum gravity, spin foam models, or in short spinfoams, propose a well-defined path integral summing over quantized discrete space-time geometries. At the crossroad of topological quantum field theory,…

We revise the classical continuum formulation behind the Spin Foam approach to the quantization of gravity. Based on the recent applications of the current EPRL-FK model beyond triangulations, we identify the tension with the implementation…

We explain how General Relativity with a cosmological constant arises as a broken symmetry phase of a BF theory. In particular we show how to treat de Sitter and anti-de Sitter cases simultaneously. This is then used to formulate a…

These notes are a didactic overview of the non perturbative and background independent approach to a quantum theory of gravity known as loop quantum gravity. The definition of real connection variables for general relativity, used as a…

The new information-theoretic Process Physics provides an explanation of space as a quantum foam system in which gravity is an inhomogeneous flow of the quantum foam into matter. The older Newtonian and General Relativity theories for…

In Plebanski's self-dual formulation general relativity becomes SO(3) BF theory supplemented with the so-called simplicity (or metricity) constraints for the B-field. The main dynamical equation of the theory states that the curvature of…

The canonical ``loop'' formulation of quantum gravity is a mathematically well defined, background independent, non perturbative standard quantization of Einstein's theory of General Relativity. Some among the most meaningful results of the…

We present a thorough introduction to the tools of category theory required for formulating gauge theories based on 2-connections. We provide a detailed construction of the categorical generalization of BF theory, dubbed BFCG, also known as…

The most common spin foam models of gravity are widely believed to be discrete path integral quantizations of the Plebanski action. However, their derivation in present formulations is incomplete and lower dimensional simplex amplitudes are…