Related papers: A one-dimensional action for simplicial gravity in…
Canonical quantization of three dimensional gravity in the first order formalism suggests that one should allow singular solutions. This paper addresses the importance of singular solutions in the path integral approach to quantum gravity.…
We review the relation between Loop Quantum Gravity on a fixed graph and discrete models of gravity. We compare Regge and twisted geometries, and discuss discrete actions based on twisted geometries and on the discretization of the…
We discuss various aspects of dimensional reduction of gravity with the Einstein-Hilbert action supplemented by a lowest order deformation formed as the Riemann tensor raised to powers two, three or four. In the case of R^2 we give an…
We calculate the most general causal N=1 three-dimensional, gauge invariant action coupled to matter in superspace and derive its component form using Ectoplasmic integration theory. One example of such an action can be obtained by…
We generalize simplicial minisuperspace models associated with restricting the topology of the universe to be that of a cone over a closed connected combinatorial $3-$manifold by considering the presence of a massive scalar field. By…
A generalization of General Relativity is studied. The standard Einstein-Hilbert action is considered in the Palatini formalism, where the connection and the metric are independent variables, and the connection is not symmetric. As a result…
Spinor gravity is a functional integral formulation of gravity based only on fundamental spinor fields. The vielbein and metric arise as composite objects. Due to the lack of local Lorentz-symmetry new invariants in the effective…
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 initiate the study of a Chern-Simons action associated to the semi-direct sum of the Virasoro algebra with its coadjoint representation. This model extends the standard Chern-Simons formulation of three dimensional flat gravity and is…
The Ponzano-Regge state-sum model provides a quantization of 3d gravity as a spin foam, providing a quantum amplitude to each 3d triangulation defined in terms of the 6j-symbol (from the spin-recoupling theory of SU(2) representations). In…
We propose a hybrid model of simplicial quantum gravity by performing at once dynamical triangulations and Regge calculus. A motive for the hybridization is to give a dynamical description of topology-changing processes of Euclidean…
In this paper we explicitly evaluate the one-loop effective action in four dimensions for scalar and spinor fields under the influence of a strong, covariantly constant, magnetic field in curved spacetime. In the framework of zeta function…
We provide Vasiliev's fully nonlinear equations of motion for bosonic gauge fields in four spacetime dimensions with an action principle. We first extend Vasiliev's original system with differential forms in degrees higher than one. We then…
We derive a manifestly duality-symmetric formulation of the action principle for conformal gravity linearized around Minkowski space-time. The analysis is performed in the Hamiltonian formulation, the fourth-order character of the equations…
We study quantum gravity in the path-integral formulation using the Regge calculus. In spite of the unbounded gravitational action the existence of an entropy-dominated phase is confirmed. The influence of various types of measures on this…
These notes aim at providing a pedagogical and pedestrian introduction to the subject and assume no previous knowledge apart from that of general relativity. We shall first recall the "frame" formulation of the later theory, then…
While general relativity provides a complete geometric theory of gravity, it fails to explain the other three forces of nature, i.e., electromagnetism and weak and strong interactions. We require the quantum field theory (QFT) to explain…
The 4-dimensional model of a massless particle with rigidity whose Lagrangian is proportional to its world-line curvature is reformulated in terms of spinor and twistor variables. We begin with a first-order Lagrangian that is equivalent to…
We review the construction of the path integral and the corresponding effective action for the Regge formulation of General Relativity under the assumption that the short-distance structure of the spacetime is not a smooth 4-manifold, but a…
We present a gauged twistor model of a free massive spinning particle in four-dimensional Minkowski space. This model is governed by an action, referred to here as the gauged generalized Shirafuji (GGS) action, that consists of twistor…