Related papers: Higher-order curvature operators in causal set qua…
We investigate gravity as a gauge theory in the language of fiber bundles with tools from algebraic geometry. Compelled by the construction of the Eilenberg-MacLane classifying space via Fox derivations in an integral group ring, the origin…
In this thesis we investigate the importance of causality in non-perturbative approaches to quantum gravity. Firstly, causal sets are introduced as a simple kinematical model for causal geometry. It is shown how causal sets could account…
The quantum cosmology of a higher-derivative derivative gravity theory arising from the heterotic string effective action is reviewed. A new type of Wheeler-DeWitt equation is obtained when the dilaton is coupled to the quadratic curvature…
We explore indefinite causal order between events in the context of quasiclassical spacetimes in superposition. We introduce several new quantifiers to measure the degree of indefiniteness of the causal order for an arbitrary finite number…
Curvature is a key notion in General Relativity, characterizing the local physical properties of spacetime. By contrast, the concept of curvature has received scant attention in nonperturbative quantum gravity. One may even wonder whether…
We apply the Hilbert series to extend the gravitational action for a scalar field to a complete, non-redundant basis of higher-dimensional operators that is quadratic in the scalars and the Weyl tensor. Such an extension of the action fully…
We explore the nature of higher dimensional operators generated by quantum gravity. Calculating the tree-level and one-loop effective operators generated by graviton exchange between fields of the standard model and those of a hidden…
We consider a discrete model of euclidean quantum gravity in four dimensions based on a summation over random simplicial manifolds. The action used is the Einstein-Hilbert action plus an $R^2$-term. The phase diagram as a function of the…
Large scale numerical experiments are commonplace today in theoretical physics. The high performance algorithms described herein are the most compact, efficient methods known for representing and analyzing systems modeled well by sets or…
A notion of curvature is introduced in multivariable operator theory and an analogue of the Gauss-Bonnet-Chern theorem is established for graded (contractive) Hilbert modules over the complex polynomial algebra in d variables, d=1,2,3,....…
We prove that Riemannian metrics in General Relativity in the \emph{`normal-coordinates'} gauge are in one-to-one correspondence with curvature 2-forms. We discuss how this can be used as a change of variables in the operator formalism to…
We examine higher-curvature gravities whose FLRW configurations are specified by equations of motion which are of second order in derivatives, just like in Einstein gravity. We name these theories Cosmological Gravities and initiate a…
We discuss various aspects of dimensional reduction of gravity with the Einstein-Hilbert action supplemented by a lowest order deformation formed as the Riemann tensor raised to powers two, three or four. In the case of R^2 we give an…
Recent progress in quantum field theory and quantum gravity relies on mixed boundary conditions involving both normal and tangential derivatives of the quantized field. In particular, the occurrence of tangential derivatives in the boundary…
The issues of quintessence and cosmic acceleration can be discussed in the framework of higher order theories of gravity. We can define effective pressure and energy density directly connected to the Ricci scalar of curvature of a generic…
I discuss some issues of perturbative quantum gravity, namely of a theory of self-interacting massless spin-2 quantum gauge fields, the gravitons, on flat space-time, in the framework of causal perturbation theory. The central aspects of…
In loop quantum cosmology, one has to make a choice of SU(2) irreducible representation in which to compute holonomies and regularize the curvature of the connection. The systematic choice made in the literature is to work in the…
Canonical quantization of an action containing curvature squared term requires introduction of an auxiliary variable. Boulware etal[1] prescribed a technique to choose such a variable, by taking derivative of an action with respect to the…
Based on the gauge invariant variables proposed in our previous paper [K. Nakamura, Prog. Theor. Phys. vol.110 (2003), 723.], some formulae of the perturbative curvatures of each order are derived. We follow the general framework of the…
Causal set theory is an approach to quantum gravity in which spacetime is fundamentally discrete while retaining local Lorentz invariance. The Benincasa-Dowker-Glaser action is the causal set equivalent to the Einstein-Hilbert action…