Related papers: The Feynman propagator for spin foam quantum gravi…
We discuss the notion of causality in Quantum Gravity in the context of sum-over-histories approaches, in the absence therefore of any background time parameter. In the spin foam formulation of Quantum Gravity, we identify the appropriate…
In this paper we tackle the issue of causality in quantum gravity, in the context of 3d spin foam models. We identify the correct procedure for implementing the causality/orientation dependence restriction that reduces the path integral for…
We analyse the classical and quantum geometry of the Barrett-Crane spin foam model for four dimensional quantum gravity, explaining why it has to be considering as a covariant realization of the projector operator onto physical quantum…
In this article we review the present status of the spin foam formulation of non-perturbative (background independent) quantum gravity. The article is divided in two parts. In the first part we present a general introduction to the main…
Spin foam models are a new approach to a formulation of quantum gravity which is fully background independent, non-perturbative, and covariant, in the spirit of path integral formulations of quantum field theory. In this thesis we describe…
We present an introduction to Group Field Theory models, motivating them on the basis of their relationship with discretized BF models of gravity. We derive the Feynmann rules and compute quantum corrections in the coherent states basis.
The Feynman propagator used in the conventional in-out formalism in quantum field theory is not a causal propagator as wave packets are propagated virtually instantaneously outside the causal region of the initial state. We formulate a…
Current theories of particle physics, including the standard model, are dominated by the paradigm that nature is basically translation invariant. Deviations from translation invariance are described by the action of forces. General…
We discuss various features and details of two versions of the Barrett-Crane spin foam model of quantum gravity, first of the Spin(4)-symmetric Riemannian model and second of the SL(2,C)-symmetric Lorentzian version in which all tetrahedra…
We compute metric correlations in loop quantum gravity with the dynamics defined by the new spin foam models. The analysis is done at the lowest order in a vertex expansion and at the leading order in a large spin expansion. The result is…
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…
Spin foam models are the path integral counterparts to loop quantized canonical theories. In the last few years several spin foam models of gravity have been proposed, most of which live on finite simplicial lattice spacetime. The lattice…
We compute Teitelboim's causal propagator in the context of canonical loop quantum gravity. For the Lorentzian signature, we find that the resultant power series can be expressed as a sum over branched, colored two-surfaces with an…
The metric field of general relativity is almost fully determined by its causal structure. Yet, in spin-foam models for quantum gravity, the role played by the causal structure is still largely unexplored. The goal of this paper is to…
Causal set theory provides a model of discrete spacetime in which spacetime events are represented by elements of a causal set---a locally finite, partially ordered set in which the partial order represents the causal relationships between…
We describe how the Barrett-Crane spin foam model defines transition amplitudes for quantum gravity states and how causality can be consistently implemented in it.
We construct a class of spin foam models describing matter coupled to gravity, such that the gravitational sector is described by the unitary irreducible representations of the appropriate symmetry group, while the matter sector is…
In this article we lay foundations for a formal relationship of spin foam models of gravity and BF theory to their continuum canonical formulations. First the derivation of the spin foam model of the BF theory from the discrete BF theory…
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.…
We give a brief and a critical review of the Barret-Crane spin foam models of quantum gravity. Then we describe two new spin foam models which are obtained by direct quantization of General Relativity and do not have some of the drawbacks…