Related papers: A trilogy of mapping class group representations f…
We construct a quantization of the moduli space $\mathcal{GH}_\Lambda(S\times\mathbb{R})$ of maximal globally hyperbolic Lorentzian metrics on $S\times \mathbb{R}$ with constant sectional curvature $\Lambda$, for a punctured surface $S$.…
Mapping-class groups of 3-manifolds feature as symmetry groups in canonical quantum gravity. They are an obvious source through which topological information could be transmitted into the quantum theory. If treated as gauge symmetries,…
We relate three-dimensional loop quantum gravity to the combinatorial quantisation formalism based on the Chern-Simons formulation for three-dimensional Lorentzian and Euclidean gravity with vanishing cosmological constant. We compare the…
The U(1)$^3$ model for 3+1 Euclidian signature general relativity is an interacting, generally covariant field theory with two physical polarisations that shares many features of Lorentzian general relativity. In particular, it displays a…
Three-dimensional Lorentzian quantum gravity, expressed as the continuum limit of a nonperturbative sum over spacetimes, is tantalizingly close to being amenable to analytical methods, and some of its properties have been described in terms…
The 2-parameter family of certain homogeneous Lorentzian 3-manifolds which includes Minkowski 3-space, de Sitter 3-space, and Minkowski motion group is considered. Each homogeneous Lorentzian 3-manifold in the 2-parameter family has a…
Canonical quantization of spherically symmetric space-times is carried out, using real-valued densitized triads and extrinsic curvature components, with specific factor ordering choices ensuring in an anomaly free quantum constraint…
The Hilbert space of a free massless particle moving on a group manifold is studied in details using canonical quantisation. While the simplest model is invariant under a global symmetry, $G \times G$, there is a very natural way to…
We present a spinfoam formulation of Lorentzian quantum General Relativity. The theory is based on a simple generalization of an Euclidean model defined in terms of a field theory over a group. The model is an extension of a recently…
A modular fusion category C allows one to define projective representations of the mapping class groups of closed surfaces of any genus. We show that if all these representations are irreducible, then C has a unique Morita-class of simple…
An example of a finite dimensional factorizable ribbon Hopf C-algebra is given by a quotient H=u_q(g) of the quantized universal enveloping algebra U_q(g) at a root of unity q of odd degree. The mapping class group M_{g,1} of a surface of…
Given an oriented surface of positive genus with finitely many punctures, we classify the finite orbits of the mapping class group action on the moduli space of semisimple complex special linear two dimensional representations of the…
k-Curvature homogeneous three-dimensional Walker metrics are described for k=0,1,2. This allows a complete description of locally homogeneous three-dimensional Walker metrics, showing that there exist exactly three isometry classes of such…
We provide a homological model for a family of quantum representations of mapping class groups arising from non-semisimple TQFTs (Topological Quantum Field Theories). Our approach gives a new geometric point of view on these…
These notes summarise a talk surveying the combinatorial or Hamiltonian quantisation of three dimensional gravity in the Chern-Simons formulation, with an emphasis on the role of quantum groups and on the way the various physical constants…
The 2-parameter family of certain homogeneous Lorentzian 3-manifolds which includes Minkowski 3-space and anti-de Sitter 3-space is considered. Each homogeneous Lorentzian 3-manifold in the 2-parameter family has a solvable Lie group…
We present a theorem on the unitarizability of loop group valued monodromy representations and apply this to show the existence of new families of constant mean curvature surfaces homeomorphic to a thrice-punctured sphere in the…
The role of the modular group in the holonomy representation of (2+1)-dimensional quantum gravity is studied. This representation can be viewed as a "Heisenberg picture", and for simple topologies, the transformation to the ADM…
The paper containes a proof that the mapping class group of the manifold $S^3\times S^3$ is isomorphic to a central extension of the (full) Jacobi group $\Gamma^J$ by the group of 7-dimensional homotopy spheres. Using a presentation of the…
We analyze the hamiltonian quantization of Chern-Simons theory associated to the universal covering of the Lorentz group SO(3,1). The algebra of observables is generated by finite dimensional spin networks drawn on a punctured topological…