Related papers: Quantum Corrections in the Group Field Theory Form…
We give a short review of the spin foam models of quantum gravity, with an emphasis on the Barret-Crane model. After explaining the shortcomings of the Barret-Crane model, we briefly discuss two new approaches, one based on the 3d spin foam…
In this article we apply background-independent renormalization group methods to spin foam quantum gravity. It is aimed at extending and elucidating the analysis of a companion letter, in which the existence of a fixed point in the…
We compute the one-loop quantum corrections to the gravitational potentials of a spinning point particle in a de Sitter background, due to the vacuum polarisation induced by conformal fields in an effective field theory approach. We…
Spinfoam models provide a covariant formulation of the dynamics of loop quantum gravity. They are non-perturbatively defined in the group field theory (GFT) framework: the GFT partition function defines the sum of spinfoam transition…
This thesis is devoted to the study of 3-dimensional quantum gravity as a spin foam model and group field theory. In the first part of this thesis, we review some general physical and mathematical aspects of 3-dimensional gravity, focusing…
We implement an extended version of reflection positivity (Wick-rotated unitarity) for invertible topological quantum field theories and compute the abelian group of deformation classes using stable homotopy theory. We apply these field…
We present a new group field theory describing 3d Riemannian quantum gravity coupled to matter fields for any choice of spin and mass. The perturbative expansion of the partition function produces fat graphs colored with SU(2) algebraic…
Spinfoams provide a framework for the dynamics of loop quantum gravity that is manifestly covariant under the full four-dimensional diffeomorphism symmetry group of general relativity. In this way they complete the ideal of…
Inflation is often described through the dynamics of a scalar field, slow-rolling in a suitable potential. Ultimately, this inflaton must be identified as the expectation value of a quantum field, evolving in a quantum effective potential.…
A framework allowing for perturbative calculations to be carried out for quantum field theories with arbitrary smoothly curved boundaries is described. It is based on an expansion of the heat kernel derived earlier for arbitrary mixed…
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.…
In this article we give a systematic definition of the recently introduced spin foam models for four dimensional quantum gravity reviewing the main results on their semiclassical limit on fixed discretizations.
We give a brief and a critical review of the Barret-Crane spin foam models of quantum gravity. Then we describe two new spin foam models which are obtained by direct quantization of General Relativity and do not have some of the drawbacks…
At small lattice spacing, or when using overlap fermions, lattice QCD simulations tend to become stuck in a single topological sector. Physical observables, e.g.\ hadron masses, then differ from their full QCD counterparts by $1/V$…
I review the formalism of loop quantum gravity, in both its real and complex formulations, and spin foam theory which is its path integral counterpart. Spin networks for non-compact groups are introduced (following hep-th/0205268) to deal…
We discuss the notion of causality in Quantum Gravity in the context of sum-over-histories approaches, in the absence therefore of any background time parameter. In the spin foam formulation of Quantum Gravity, we identify the appropriate…
The spinfoam framework is a proposal for a regularized path integral for quantum gravity. Spinfoams define quantum space-time structures describing the evolution in time of the spin network states for quantum geometry derived from Loop…
Quantum gravity corrections to the behavior of matter, such as Higgs bosons and fermions, are notoriously difficult to calculate. The standard tools of quantum field theory often break down, producing infinite results that spoil our…
In various approaches to quantum gravity continuum spacetime is expected to emerge from discrete geometries through a phase transition. In group field theory, various indications for such a transition have recently been found but a complete…
We use tools from non-standard analysis to formulate the building blocks of quantum field theory within the framework of categorical quantum mechanics. Building upon previous work, we construct an object of *Hilb having quantum fields as…