Related papers: A one-dimensional action for simplicial gravity in…
We have recently introduced a new and very simple action for three-dimensional massive gravity. This action is written in a first order formulation where the triad and the connection play a manifestly symmetric role, but where internal…
We investigate quantum gravity on simplicial lattices using Regge calculus with special emphasize on the problem of the unbounded action. The role of the entropy for the path integral is discussed in detail. Our numerical results show…
The present thesis aims at an extension of the canonical formalism of Arnowitt, Deser, and Misner from self-gravitating point-masses to objects with spin. This would allow interesting applications, e.g., within the post-Newtonian (PN)…
We study Faddeev formulation of gravity, in which the metric is composed of vector fields. We consider these fields constant in the interior of the 4-simplices of a simplicial complex. The action depends not only on the values of the fields…
A discrete theory of gravity locally invariant under the Poincar\'e group is considered as in a companion paper. We define a first order theory, in the sense of Palatini, on the metric-dual Voronoi complex of a simplicial complex. We follow…
Here we perform a Kaluza-Klein dimensional reduction of Vasiliev's first-order description of massless spin-s particles from $D=3+1$ to $D=2+1$ and derive first-order self-dual models describing particles with helicities $\pm s$ for the…
The connection between angular momentum in quantum mechanics and geometric objects is extended to manifold with torsion. First, we notice the relation between the $6j$ symbol and Regge's discrete version of the action functional of…
Using the Steiner-Weyl expansion formula for parallel manifolds and the so called gonihedric principle we find a large class of discrete integral invariants which are defined on simplicial manifolds of various dimensions. These integral…
By regularizing the singularities appearing in the two dimensional Regge calculus by means of a segment of a sphere or pseudo-sphere and then taking the regulator to zero, we obtain a simple formula for the gauge volume which appears in the…
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 consider the recent calculation gr-qc/0508124 of the graviton propagator in the spinfoam formalism. Within the 3d toy model introduced in gr-qc/0512102, we test how the spinfoam formalism can be used to construct the perturbative…
By using integral forms we derive the superspace action of D=3, N=1 supergravity as an integral on a supermanifold. The construction is based on target space picture changing operators, here playing the role of Poincare' duals to the…
We propose a new basis of spin-operators, specific for the case of planar theories, which allows a Lagrangian decomposition into spin-parity components. The procedure enables us to discuss unitarity and spectral properties of gravity models…
Five-dimensional gauge and gravity theories are known to exhibit striking properties. D=5 is the lowest dimension where massive tensor states appear naturally, providing a testing ground for perturbative insights into six-dimensional tensor…
Quantum gravity is studied in the path integral formulation applying the Regge calculus. Restricting the quadratic link lengths of the originally triangular lattice the path integral can be transformed to the partition function of a spin…
We consider the Palatini formalism of gravity with cosmological constant $\Lambda$ coupled to a scalar field $\phi$ in $n$-dimensions. The $n$-dimensional Einstein equations with $\Lambda$ can be derived by the variation of the coupled…
We study the action of diffeomorphisms on spin foam models. We prove that in 3 dimensions, there is a residual action of the diffeomorphisms that explains the naive divergences of state sum models. We present the gauge fixing of this…
A systematic presentation of spinors in various dimensions is given.
A first order form of Regge calculus is defined in the spirit of Palatini's action for general relativity. The extra independent variables are the interior dihedral angles of a simplex, with conjugate variables the areas of the triangles.…
The gonihedric spin model was first introduced as the action for a discretized tensionless string in a discretized embeding space. Afterwards was found that there are interesting features on the dynamical behavior of this model in 3…