Related papers: Discrete gravity dynamics from effective spin foam…
Effective spin foams provide the computationally most efficient spin foam models yet and are therefore ideally suited for applications e.g. to quantum cosmology. We provide here the first effective spin foam computations of a finite time…
I review the formalism of loop quantum gravity, in both its real and complex formulations, and spin foam theory which is its path integral counterpart. Spin networks for non-compact groups are introduced (following hep-th/0205268) to deal…
We describe a theory of quantum gravity which is based on the assumption that the spacetime structure at small distances is given by a piecewise linear (PL) 4-manifold corresponding to a triangulation of a smooth 4-manifold. The fundamental…
Recent attempts to recover the graviton propagator from spin foam models involve the use of a boundary quantum state peaked on a classical geometry. The question arises whether beyond the case of a single simplex this suffices for peaking…
We show how Feynman amplitudes of standard QFT on flat and homogeneous space can naturally be recast as the evaluation of observables for a specific spin foam model, which provides dynamics for the background geometry. We identify the…
Loop quantum gravity has provided us with a canonical framework especially devised for background independent and diffeomorphism invariant gauge field theories. In this quantization the fundamental excitations are called spin network…
The Spin Foam approach to quantum gravity aims at providing a covariant path-integral formulation of canonical Loop Quantum Gravity. Since spin foam amplitudes are defined through discretisations of spacetime, understanding the continuum…
We revise imposition of various constraints in spin foam models of 4-dimensional general relativity. We argue that the usual simplicity constraint must be supplemented by a constraint on holonomies and together they must be inserted…
Motivated by quantum gravity, semi-classical theory, and quantum theory on curved spacetimes, we study the system of an oscillator coupled to two spin-1/2 particles. This model provides a prototype for comparing three types of dynamics: the…
Discretization of general relativity is a promising route towards quantum gravity. Discrete geometries have a finite number of degrees of freedom and can mimic aspects of quantum geometry. However, selection of the correct discrete freedoms…
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…
These notes are a didactic overview of the non perturbative and background independent approach to a quantum theory of gravity known as loop quantum gravity. The definition of real connection variables for general relativity, used as a…
In loop quantum gravity we now have a clear picture of the quantum geometry of space, thanks in part to the theory of spin networks. The concept of `spin foam' is intended to serve as a similar picture for the quantum geometry of spacetime.…
The problem of background independent quantum gravity is the problem of defining a quantum field theory of matter and gravity in the absence of an underlying background geometry. Loop quantum gravity (LQG) is a promising proposal for…
Spin foams are models of quantum gravity and therefore quantum space time. A key open issue is to determine the possible continuum phases of these models. Progress on this issue has been prohibited by the complexity of the full…
Dynamical triangulations of four-dimensional Euclidean quantum gravity give rise to an interesting, numerically accessible model of quantum gravity. We give a simple introduction to the model and discuss two particularly important issues.…
We consider spinfoam quantum gravity. We show in a simple case that the amplitude projects over a nontrivial (curved) classical geometry. This suggests that, at least for spinfoams without bubbles and for large values of the boundary spins,…
We investigate a formulation of continuum 4d gravity in terms of a constrained topological (BF) theory, in the spirit of the Plebanski formulation, but involving only linear constraints, of the type used recently in the spin foam approach…
One of the most important issues in quantum gravity is to identify its semi-classical regime. First the issue is to define for we mean by a semi-classical theory of quantum gravity, then we would like to use it to extract physical…
We give a general definition of spin foam models, and then of models of 4d quantum gravity based on constraining BF theory. We highlight the construction and quantization ambiguities entering model building, among which the choice of…