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We introduce a gauge and diffeomorphism invariant theory on Yang-Mills phase space. The theory is well defined for an arbitrary gauge group with an invariant bilinear form, it contains only first class constraints, and the spacetime metric…
We formulate scalar field theories coupled non-conformally to gravity in a manifestly frame-independent fashion. Physical quantities such as the $S$ matrix should be invariant under field redefinitions, and hence can be represented by the…
I argue that the complete partition function of 3D quantum gravity is given by a path integral over gauge-inequivalent manifolds times the Chern-Simons partition function. In a discrete version, it gives a sum over simplicial complexes…
We present a new formulation for the canonical approach to conformal (Weyl-squared) gravity and its extension by the Einstein-Hilbert term and a nonminimally coupled scalar field. For this purpose we use a unimodular decomposition of the…
It has been pointed out that the holonomy of generic extended loops is not gauge covariant. We show how to define a family of extended loops for which previous criticism does not apply. We also give sufficient conditions that extended loops…
We define a modification of LQG in which graphs are required to consist in piecewise linear edges, which we call piecewise linear LQG (plLQG). At the diffeomorphism invariant level, we prove that plLQG is equivalent to standard LQG, as long…
We develop the complete composite theory of gravity, in which the gauge vector fields of the Yang-Mills theory with Lorentz symmetry group are expressed in terms of the tetrad variables obtained from the decomposition of a metric. A key…
The group $SL(2,\mathbb{C})$ of all complex $2\times 2$ matrices with determinant one is closely related to the group $\boldsymbol{\mathcal{L}}_{+}^\uparrow$ of real $4\times 4$ matrices representing the restricted Lorentz transformations.…
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 ${\rm G}$,…
We develop the covariant phase space formulation of Weyl-transverse gravity (WTG) in the presence of general timelike and spacelike boundaries. WTG is classically equivalent to General Relativity (GR) but possesses a reduced gauge symmetry…
In the search for a covariant formulation for Loop Quantum Gravity, spin foams have arised as the corresponding discrete space-time structure and, among the different models, the Barrett-Crane model seems the most promising. Here, we study…
Both projectable and non-projectable versions of Horava-Lifshitz gravity face serious challenges. In the non-projectable version, the constraint algebra is seemingly inconsistent. The projectable version lacks a local Hamiltonian…
The search for a quantum theory of gravity has become one of the most well-known problems in theoretical physics. Problems quantizing general relativity because it is not renormalizable have led to a search for a new theory of gravity that,…
A recent study by Bojowald and Paily provided a path toward the identification of an effective quantum-spacetime picture of Loop Quantum Gravity, applicable in the "Minkowski regime", the regime where the large-scale (coarse-grained)…
A new path integral approach of quantum gravity based on relational variables and quantum test objects is presented. We take as a basic variables the squared invariant distance. This invariant quantity is technically simpler to work with…
This paper introduces a systematic algorithm for deriving a new unitary representation of the Lorentz algebra ($so(1,3)$) and an irreducible unitary representation of the extended (anti) de-Sitter algebra ($so(2,4)$) on…
The Turaev-Viro state sum model provides a covariant spin foam quantization of three-dimensional Riemannian gravity with a positive cosmological constant {\Lambda}. We complete the program to canonically quantize the theory in the BF…
We show that the noncommutative Yang-Mills field forms an irreducible representation of the (undeformed) Lie algebra of rigid translations, rotations and dilatations. The noncommutative Yang-Mills action is invariant under combined…
An open issue in loop quantum gravity (LQG) is the introduction of a non-vanishing cosmological constant $\Lambda$. In 3d, Chern-Simons theory provides some guiding lines: $\Lambda$ appears in the quantum deformation of the gauge group. The…
We present new second derivative, generally covariant theories of gravity for spherically symmetric spacetimes (general covariance is in the $t-r$ plane) belonging to the class where the spherically symmetric Einstein-Hilbert theory is…