Related papers: Complete loop quantization of a dimension 1+2 Lore…
An unusual four-dimensional generally covariant and supersymmetric SU(2) gauge theory is described. The theory has propagating degrees of freedom, and is invariant under a local (left-handed) chiral supersymmetry, which is half the…
In the Chern-Simons formulation of Einstein gravity in 2+1 dimensions the phase space of gravity is the moduli space of flat G-connections, where G is a typically non-compact Lie group which depends on the signature of space-time and the…
This is intended as a broad introduction to Chern-Simons gravity and supergravity. The motivation for these theories lies in the desire to have a gauge invariant system --with a fiber bundle formulation-- in more than three dimensions,…
We do not yet know how to quantize gravity in 3+1 dimensions, but in lower dimensions we face the opposite problem: many of the approaches originally developed for (3+1)-dimensional gravity can be successfully implemented in 2+1 dimensions,…
Following the general method discussed in Refs.[1,2], Liouville gravity and the 2 dimensional model of non-Einstenian gravity ${\cal L} \sim curv^2 + torsion^2 + cosm. const.$ can be formulated as ISO(1,1) gauge theories. In the first order…
It is shown that the canonical classical $r$-matrix arising from the Drinfel'd double structure underlying the two-fold centrally extended (2+1) Galilean and Newton-Hooke Lie algebras (with either zero or non-zero cosmological constant…
We relate the geometrical and the Chern-Simons description of (2+1)-dimensional gravity for spacetimes of topology $R\times S_g$, where $S_g$ is an oriented two-surface of genus $g>1$, for Lorentzian signature and general cosmological…
We demonstrate, by analogy with electromagnetism, that the geometric content in the theory of gravity is an indirect consequence of the fact that the gauge group in question is the Lorentz group SO(1,3). We hence construct field equations…
We present a simple unifying gauge theoretical formulation of gravitational theories in two dimensional spacetime. This formulation includes the effects of a novel matter-gravity coupling which leads to an extended de Sitter symmetry…
Three-dimensional Lorentzian quantum gravity, expressed as the continuum limit of a nonperturbative sum over spacetimes, is tantalizingly close to being amenable to analytical methods, and some of its properties have been described in terms…
Witten described how a path integral quantization of Wilson Loop observables will define Jones polynomial type of link invariants, using the Chern-Simons gauge theory in $\mathbb{R}^3$. In this gauge theory, a compact Lie group ${\rm G}$,…
Chamseddine and Mukhanov showed that gravity and gauge theories could be unified in one geometric construction provided that a metricity condition is imposed on the vielbein. In this paper we are going to show that by enlarging the gauge…
A state sum model based on the group SU(1,1) is defined. Investigations of its geometry and asymptotics suggest it is a good candidate for modelling (2+1) Lorentzian quantum gravity.
Following the approach of Grignani and Nardelli [1], we show how to cast the two-dimensional model $L \sim curv^2 + torsion^2 + cosm.const$ -- and in fact any theory of gravity -- into the form of a Poincare gauge theory. By means of the…
Five dimensional Chern-Simons theory with (anti-)de Sitter SO(1,5) or SO(2,4) gauge invariance presents an alternative to General Relativity with cosmological constant. We consider the zero-modes of its Kaluza-Klein compactification to four…
We propose an explicit spin-foam amplitude for Lorentzian gravity in three dimensions, allowing for both space- and time-like boundaries. The model is based on two main requirements: that it should be structurally similar to its well-known…
The locally supersymmetric extension of the most general gravity theory in three dimensions leading to first order field equations for the vielbein and the spin connection is constructed. Apart from the Einstein-Hilbert term with…
In the context of the formalism proposed by Stelle-West and Grignani-Nardelli, it is shown that Chern-Simons supergravity can be consistently obtained as a dimensional reduction of (3+1)-dimensional supergravity, when written as a gauge…
We construct a quantization of the moduli space $\mathcal{GH}_\Lambda(S\times\mathbb{R})$ of maximal globally hyperbolic Lorentzian metrics on $S\times \mathbb{R}$ with constant sectional curvature $\Lambda$, for a punctured surface $S$.…
A gauge theory of gravity is defined in 6 dimensional non-commutative space-time. The gauge group is the unitary group U(2,2), which contains the homogeneous Lorentz group, SO(4,2), in 6 dimensions as a subgroup. It is shown that, after the…