Related papers: Spin Networks and Cosmic Strings in 3+1 Dimensions
A string-net model associates a vector space to a surface in terms of graphs decorated by objects and morphisms of a pivotal fusion category modulo local relations. String-net models are usually considered for spherical fusion categories,…
A new functional calculus, developed recently for a fully non-perturbative treatment of quantum gravity, is used to begin a systematic construction of a quantum theory of geometry. Regulated operators corresponding to areas of 2-surfaces…
A lattice model for four dimensional Euclidean quantum general relativity is proposed for a simplicial spacetime. It is shown how this model can be expressed in terms of a sum over worldsheets of spin networks, and an interpretation of…
We construct cosmological spacetimes with null Kasner-like singularities as purely gravitational solutions with no other background fields turned on. These can be recast as anisotropic plane-wave spacetimes by coordinate transformations. We…
We describe random loop models and their relations to a family of quantum spin systems on finite graphs. The family includes spin 1/2 Heisenberg models with possibly anisotropic spin interactions and certain spin 1 models with…
I discuss generic consequences (sometimes called "soft predictions") of a class of background independent quantum theories of spacetime called causal spin network theories. These are theories whose kinematics and dynamics is based on the…
We define string geometry: spaces of superstrings including the interactions, their topologies, charts, and metrics. Trajectories in asymptotic processes on a space of strings reproduce the right moduli space of the super Riemann surfaces…
We show how spin networks can be described and evaluated as Feynman integrals over an internal space. This description can, in particular, be applied to the so-called simple SO(D) spin networks that are of importance for higher-dimensional…
We extend our earlier model of the small scale structure of cosmic string networks through an improved treatment of the separation of long and short scales. We find that the production of small loops (at the gravitational radiation scale)…
Based on a recently proposed holographic relationship between spin networks and superstrings, we find out numerical values for the matter and cosmological constant density parameters given by $\Omega_{m0} = 0.3311$ and $\Omega_{\Lambda 0} =…
We study string theory in supersymmetric time-dependent backgrounds. In the framework of general relativity, supersymmetry for spacetimes without flux implies the existence of a covariantly constant null vector, and a relatively simple form…
We propose a theory for coupling matter fields with discrete geometry on higher-order networks, i.e. cell complexes. The key idea of the approach is to associate to a higher-order network the quantum entropy of its metric. Specifically we…
Cosmic (super)strings offer promising ways to test ideas about the early universe and physics at high energies. While in field theory constructions their tension is usually assumed to be constant (or at most slowly-varying), this is often…
We show that the path integral for the three-dimensional SU(2) BF theory with a Wilson loop or a spin network function inserted can be understood as the Rovelli-Smolin loop transform of a wavefunction in the Ashtekar connection…
We explore the symmetries of classical stationary spacetimes in terms of the dynamics of a spinning string described by a worldsheet supersymmetric action. We show that for stationary configurations of the string, the action reduces to that…
We investigate Brans-Dicke dilaton gravity theories in 2+1 dimensions. We show that the reduced field equations for solutions with diagonal metric and depending only on one spacetime coordinate have a continuous O(2) symmetry. Using this…
I consider a three-dimensional string theory whose action, besides the standard area term, contains one of the form $\int_{\Sigma} \epsilon_{\mu\nu\sigma} X^{\mu} d X^{\nu} \wedge d X^{\sigma}$. In the case of closed strings this extra term…
Amidst all candidates of physics beyond the Standard Model, string theory provides a unique proposal for incorporating gauge and gravitational interactions. In string theory, a four-dimensional theory that unifies quantum mechanics and…
In this paper we construct a $(2,2)$ dimensional string theory with manifest $N=1$ spacetime supersymmetry. We use Berkovits' approach of augmenting the spacetime supercoordinates by the conjugate momenta for the fermionic variables. The…
Cosmic strings are one-dimensional topological defects which could have been formed in the early stages of our Universe. They triggered a lot of interest, mainly for their cosmological implications: they could offer an alternative to…