Related papers: Reality Conditions for Spin Foams

We propose a quantum version of the quadratic volume simplicity constraint for the EPRL spin foam model. It relies on a formula for the volume of 4-dimensional polyhedra, depending on its bivectors and the knotting class of its boundary…

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…

It is well known that, in the first-order formalism, pure three-dimensional gravity is just the BF theory. Similarly, four-dimensional general relativity can be formulated as BF theory with an additional constraint term added to the…

We give an overview of the current issues in early universe cosmology and consider the potential resolution of these issues in an as yet nascent spin foam cosmology. The model is the Barrett-Crane Model for quantum gravity along with a…

In this article we consider specific bivector geometries which arise in the large-spin limit of the extension of the Engle-Pereira-Rovelli-Livine spin foam model for quantum gravity by Kaminski, Kisielowski and Lewandowski. We address the…

We show that the degenerate sector of Spin(4) Plebanski formulation of four-dimensional gravity is exactly solvable and describes covariantly embedded SU(2) BF theory. This fact ensures that its spin foam quantization is given by the SU(2)…

In the spinfoam framework for quantum gravity, we investigate the conditions to have a physical quantum state for the Barrett-Crane model for the 4d quantum gravity path integral. More precisely, we look at the simplest case of a single…

We examine the constraints and the reality conditions that have to be imposed in the canonical theory of 4--d gravity formulated in terms of Ashtekar variables. We find that the polynomial reality conditions are consistent with the…

Spin foams of 4d gravity were recently extended from complexes with purely spacelike surfaces to complexes that also contain timelike surfaces. In this article, we express the associated partition function in terms of vertex amplitudes and…

A number of approaches to four-dimensional quantum gravity, such as loop quantum gravity and holography, situate areas as their fundamental variables. However, this choice of kinematics can easily lead to gravitational dynamics peaked on…

Spin Foam and Loop approaches to Quantum Gravity reformulate Einstein's theory of relativity in terms of connection variables. The metric properties are encoded in face bivectors/conjugate fluxes that are required to satisfy certain…

Spin foam models are an attempt for a covariant, or path integral formulation of canonical loop quantum gravity. The construction of such models usually rely on the Plebanski formulation of general relativity as a constrained BF theory and…

We study the generalised constrained BF theory described in gr-qc/0102073 in order to introduce the Immirzi parameter in spin foam models. We show that the resulting spin foam model is still based on simple representations and that the…

Spin foams are candidate state-sum models for transition amplitudes in quantum gravity. An active research subject is to identify the possible divergences of spin foam models, or alternatively to show that models are finite. We will discuss…

We report on the numerical analysis of the area correlations in spin foam gravity on a single 4-simplex considered by Rovelli in PRL 97 (2006) 151301. We compare the asymptotics and confirm the inverse squared distance leading behaviour at…

Spin foams arise from a quantization of classical gravity expressed via the Plebanski action. Key open questions related to the continuum limit of spin foams are whether general relativity is reproduced and what type of corrections could…

The spectral dimension has proven to be a very informative observable to understand the properties of quantum geometries in approaches to quantum gravity. In loop quantum gravity and its spin foam description, it has not been possible so…

We describe a class of spin foam models of four-dimensional quantum gravity which is based on the integration of the tetrad one-forms in the path integral for the Palatini action of General Relativity. In the Euclidian gravity case this…

The goal of this paper is to introduce a systematic approach to spin foams. We define operator spin foams, that is foams labelled by group representations and operators, as the main tool. An equivalence relation we impose in the set of the…

Spin foam models are an approach to quantum gravity based on the concept of sum over states, which aims to describe quantum spacetime dynamics in a way that its parent framework, loop quantum gravity, has not as of yet succeeded. Since…