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Two sets of spatially diffeomorphism invariant operators are constructed in the loop representation formulation of quantum gravity. This is done by coupling general relativity to an anti- symmetric tensor gauge field and using that field to…
Loop quantum gravity is an approach to quantum gravity that starts from the Hamiltonian formulation in terms of a connection and its canonical conjugate. Quantization proceeds in the spirit of Dirac: First one defines an algebra of basic…
A Wilson loop is defined, in 4-D pure Einstein gravity, as the trace of the holonomy of the Christoffel connection or of the spin connection, and its invariance under the symmetry transformations of the action is showed (diffeomorphisms and…
By explicit construction, we show that one can in a simple way introduce and measure gravitational holonomies and Wilson loops in lattice formulations of nonperturbative quantum gravity based on (Causal) Dynamical Triangulations. We use…
In this paper, we study the discrete classical phase space of loop gravity, which is expressed in terms of the holonomy-flux variables, and show how it is related to the continuous phase space of general relativity. In particular, we prove…
Loop quantum gravity in its Hamiltonian form relies on a connection formulation of the gravitational phase space with three key properties: 1.) a compact gauge group, 2.) real variables, and 3.) canonical Poisson brackets. In conjunction,…
We review the geometrical properties of vacuum spacetimes in (2+1)-gravity with vanishing cosmological constant. We explain how these spacetimes are characterised as quotients of their universal cover by holonomies. We explain how this…
A quantum hamiltonian which evolves the gravitational field according to time as measured by constant surfaces of a scalar field is defined through a regularization procedure based on the loop representation, and is shown to be finite and…
We recall the non-Abelian Stokes theorem for the Wilson loop in the Yang-Mills theory and discuss its meaning. Then we move to `gravitational Wilson loops', i.e. to holonomies in curved d=2,3,4 spaces and derive non-Abelian Stokes theorems…
Gauge-invariant observables for quantum gravity are described, with explicit constructions given primarily to leading order in Newton's constant, analogous to and extending constructions first given by Dirac in quantum electrodynamics.…
In a quantum theory of gravity the gravitational Wilson loop, defined as a suitable quantum average of a parallel transport operator around a large near-planar loop, provides important information about the large-scale curvature properties…
Some of the most outstanding questions in the field of gravitation and geometry remain unsolved as a result of our limited understanding of the global structure of the spacetime geometry and the role played by global spacetime…
Over the last two years, the canonical approach to quantum gravity based on connections and triads has been put on a firm mathematical footing through the development and application of a new functional calculus on the space of gauge…
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 ${\rm G}$,…
Based on a recent purely geometric construction of observables for the spatial diffeomorphism constraint, we propose two distinct quantum reductions to spherical symmetry within full 3+1-dimensional loop quantum gravity. The construction of…
We present the geodesic nature and quantization of geometric shift vector in quantum systems, with the parameter space defined by the Bloch momentum, using the Wilson loop approach. Our analysis extends to include bosonic phonon drag shift…
This series of lectures gives a simple and self-contained introduction to the non-perturbative and background independent loop approach of canonical quantum gravity. The Hilbert space of kinematical quantum states is constructed and a…
We recently introduced a new representation for loop quantum gravity, which is based on the BF vacuum and is in this sense much nearer to the spirit of spin foam dynamics. In the present paper we lay out the classical framework underlying…
We construct in this article a new realization of quantum geometry, which is obtained by quantizing the recently-introduced flux formulation of loop quantum gravity. In this framework, the vacuum is peaked on flat connections, and states…
We study a family of physical observable quantities in quantum gravity. We denote them W functions, or n-net functions. They represent transition amplitudes between quantum states of the geometry, are analogous to the n-point functions in…