Related papers: Classical general relativity as BF-Plebanski theor…
In the context of f(R) theories of gravity, we study the cosmological evolution of scalar perturbations by using a completely general procedure. We find that the exact fourth-order differential equation for the matter density perturbations…
An idea of reality conditions in the context of spin foams (Barrett-Crane models) is developed. The square of areas are the most elementary observables in the case of spin foams. This observation implies that simplest reality conditions in…
In this article we review the present status of the spin foam formulation of non-perturbative (background independent) quantum gravity. The article is divided in two parts. In the first part we present a general introduction to the main…
A key point in the spin foam approach to quantum gravity is the implementation of simplicity constraints in the partition functions of the models. Here, we discuss the imposition of these constraints in a phase space setting corresponding…
A lattice quantum gravity model in 4 dimensional Riemannian spacetime is constructed based on the SU(2) Ashtekar formulation of general relativity. This model can be understood as one of the family of models sometimes called ``spin foam…
Within the context of the Ashtekar variables, the Hamiltonian constraint of four-dimensional pure General Relativity with cosmological constant, $\Lambda$, is reexpressed as an affine algebra with the commutator of the imaginary part of the…
We attempt to clarify several aspects concerning the recently presented four-dimensional Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity. We argue that the limiting procedure outlined in [Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 081301 (2020)] generally involves ill-defined…
The theory of canonical linearized gravity is quantized using the Projection Operator formalism, in which no gauge or coordinate choices are made. The ADM Hamiltonian is used and the canonical variables and constraints are expanded around a…
In this paper explore the relation between covariant and canonical approaches to quantum gravity and $BF$ theory. We will focus on the dynamical triangulation and spin-foam models, which have in common that they can be defined in terms 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…
Discrete approaches to gravity, both classical and quantum, are reviewed briefly, with emphasis on the method using piecewise-linear spaces. Models of 3-dimensional quantum gravity involving 6j-symbols are then described, and progress in…
An explicit, geometric description of the first-class constraints and their Poisson brackets for gravity in the Palatini-Cartan formalism (in space-time dimension greater than three) is given. The corresponding Batalin- Fradkin-Vilkovisky…
We construct a new vacuum for loop quantum gravity, which is dual to the Ashtekar-Lewandowski vacuum. Because it is based on BF theory, this new vacuum is physical for $(2+1)$-dimensional gravity, and much closer to the spirit of spin foam…
We present a brief description of the ``consistent discretization'' approach to classical and quantum general relativity. We exhibit a classical simple example to illustrate the approach and summarize current classical and quantum…
The first order Plebanski formulation of (complex) general relativity (GR) in terms of self-dual 2-forms admits a generalization, proposed by Krasnov, that is qualitatively different from other possible generalizations of GR in terms of…
We study the Hamiltonian formulation of Plebanski theory in both the Euclidean and Lorentzian cases. A careful analysis of the constraints shows that the system is non regular, i.e. the rank of the Dirac matrix is non-constant on the…
A simple cubic matrix model is presented, which has truncations that, it is argued, lead at the classical level to a variety of theories of gauge fields and gravity. These include Chern-Simons theory in d=3, and BF theory and general…
In the context of $f(R)$ theories of gravity, we study the evolution of scalar cosmological perturbations in the metric formalism. Using a completely general procedure, we find the exact fourth-order differential equation for the matter…
Five-vectors theory of gravity is proposed, which admits an arbitrary choice of the energy density reference level. This theory is formulated as the constraint theory, where the Lagrange multipliers turn out to be restricted to some class…
The cosmological constant and its phenomenology remain among the greatest puzzles in theoretical physics. We review how modifications of Einstein's general relativity could alleviate the different problems associated with it that result…