Related papers: Topological quantum field theory and quantum gravi…
We describe how a spin-foam state sum model can be reformulated as a quantum field theory of spin networks, such that the Feynman diagrams of that field theory are the spin-foam amplitudes. In the case of open spin networks, we obtain a new…
These third-year lecture notes are designed for a 1-semester course in topological quantum field theory (TQFT). Assumed background in mathematics and physics are only standard second-year subjects: multivariable calculus, introduction to…
Starting from the original Einstein action, sometimes called the Gamma squared action, we propose a new setup to formulate modified theories of gravity. This can yield a theory with second order field equations similar to those found in…
A topological quantum field theory is introduced which reproduces the Seiberg-Witten invariants of four-manifolds. Dimensional reduction of this topological field theory leads to a new one in three dimensions. Its partition function yields…
We consider a toy model of a 3-dimensional topological quantum gravity. In this model, a contribution of a given 3-manifold is given by the partition function of an abelian Topological Quantum Field Theory (TQFT), with a topological…
The scalar-tensor theories of gravity in spacetime dimensions $D+1>2$ are studied. By doing Hamiltonian analysis, we obtain the geometrical dynamics of the theories from their Lagrangian. The Hamiltonian formalism indicates that the…
I present a brief review on some of the recent developments in topological quantum field theory. These include topological string theory, topological Yang-Mills theory and Chern-Simons gauge theory. It is emphasized how the application of…
We review quantum gravity model building using the new formalism of `quantum Riemannian geometry' to construct this on finite discrete spaces and on fuzzy ones such as matrix algebras. The formalism starts with a `differential structure' as…
A model of matter-coupled gravity in two dimensions is quantized. The crucial requirement for performing the quantization is the vanishing of the conformal anomaly, which is achieved by tuning a parameter in the interaction potential. The…
I review some recent results on four-manifold invariants which have been obtained in the context of topological quantum field theory. I focus on three different aspects: (a) the computation of correlation functions, which give explicit…
A simple algebraic model for charged particle moving in two dimensional space under influence of singular magnetic field is given. The fundamental assumption for the model is that every charged particle coupled to the magnetic field is…
We develop a Hamiltonian description of point particles in (2+1)-dimensions using connection and frame-field variables for general relativity. The topology of each spatial hypersurface is that of a punctured two-sphere with particles…
We identify a class of condensate states in the group field theory (GFT) approach to quantum gravity that can be interpreted as macroscopic homogeneous spatial geometries. We then extract the dynamics of such condensate states directly from…
Four-dimensional gravity admits many equivalent formulations - metric, Einstein-Cartan, teleparallel, McDowell-Mansouri, among others - each offering distinct advantages, particularly, in view of quantization. We propose a new formulation…
Gravity can be considered as an effective quantum field theory with reliable, but limited predictions. Though the influence of gravity on gauge and other interactions of elementary particles is still an open question. We calculate the…
We study generalizations of 3- and 4-dimensional BF-theory in the context of higher gauge theory. First, we construct topological higher gauge theories as discrete state sum models and explain how they are related to the state sums of…
We consider topological contributions to the action integral in a gauge theory formulation of gravity. Two topological invariants are found and are shown to arise from the scalar and pseudoscalar parts of a single integral. Neither of these…
These notes offer a lightening introduction to topological quantum field theory in its functorial axiomatisation, assuming no or little prior exposure. We lay some emphasis on the connection between the path integral motivation and the…
In three spacetime dimensions, general relativity drastically simplifies, becoming a ``topological'' theory with no propagating local degrees of freedom. Nevertheless, many of the difficult conceptual problems of quantizing gravity are…
In this paper we construct a model for group field cosmology. The classical equations of motion for the non-interactive part of this model generate the Hamiltonian constraint of loop quantum gravity for a homogeneous isotropic universe…