Related papers: Geometric Structures and Loop Variables in (2+1)-D…
We review the geometrical properties of vacuum spacetimes in (2+1)-gravity with vanishing cosmological constant. We explain how these spacetimes are characterised as quotients of their universal cover by holonomies. We explain how this…
We examine the relationship between covariant and canonical (Ashtekar/Rovelli/Smolin) loop variables in the context of BF type topological field theories in 2+1 and 3+1 dimensions, with respective gauge groups SO(2,1) and SO(3,1). The…
We develop a new perspective on the discretization of the phase space structure of gravity in 2+1 dimensions as a piecewise-flat geometry in 2 spatial dimensions. Starting from a subdivision of the continuum geometric and phase space…
Loop quantum gravity is a physical theory which aims at unifying general relativity and quantum mechanics. It takes general relativity very seriously and modifies it via a quantisation. General relativity describes gravity in terms of…
Starting from a topological gauge theory in two dimensions with symmetry groups $ISO(2,1)$, $SO(2,1)$ and $SO(1,2)$ we construct a model for gravity with non-trivial coupling to matter. We discuss the equations of motion which are connected…
Modified theories of gravity have been invoked recently as an alternative to dark energy, in an attempt to explain the apparent accelerated expansion of the universe at the present time. In order to describe inhomogeneities in cosmological…
We relate the geometrical and the Chern-Simons description of (2+1)-dimensional gravity for spacetimes of topology $R\times S_g$, where $S_g$ is an oriented two-surface of genus $g>1$, for Lorentzian signature and general cosmological…
We show that there are 2 equivalent first order descriptions of 2+1 gravity with non-zero cosmological constant. One is the well-known spacetime description and the other is in terms of evolving conformal geometry. The key tool that links…
In this paper, an attempt is made to represent 5+1 dimensional gravity (via ADM formalism) in terms of the loop constructions introduced by the author in a companion paper. The "momenta" and "velocity" from the earlier paper, which were…
We discuss the structure of one-loop counterterms for the two-dimensional theory of gravitation in the covariant scheme and study the effect of quantum reparametrizations.Some of them are shown to be equivalent to the introduction of…
We investigate the relation between measurements and the physical observables for vacuum spacetimes with compact spatial surfaces in (2+1)-gravity with vanishing cosmological constant. By considering an observer who emits lightrays that…
We discuss the structure of one-loop counterterms for the two-dimensional theory of gravitation in the covariant scheme and study the effect of quantum reparametrizations. Some of them are shown to be equivalent to the introduction of…
A classical two dimensional theory of gravity which has a number of interesting features (including a Newtonian limit, black holes and gravitational collapse) is quantized using conformal field theoretic techniques. The critical dimension…
We describe an approach to the quantisation of (2+1)-dimensional gravity with topology R x T^2 and negative cosmological constant, which uses two quantum holonomy matrices satisfying a q-commutation relation. Solutions of diagonal and…
We present a rigorous regularization of Rovellis's generalized projection operator in canonical 2+1 gravity. This work establishes a clear-cut connection between loop quantum gravity and the spin foam approach in this simplified setting.…
A set of observables is described for the topological quantum field theory which describes quantum gravity in three space-time dimensions with positive signature and positive cosmological constant. The simplest examples measure the…
The canonical analysis and subsequent quantization of the (2+1)-dimensional action of pure gravity plus a cosmological constant term is considered, under the assumption of the existence of one spacelike Killing vector field. The proper…
Since the gauge group underlying 2+1-dimensional general relativity is non-compact, certain difficulties arise in the passage from the connection to the loop representations. It is shown that these problems can be handled by appropriately…
A review is given of some 2-dimensional metrics for which noncommutative versions have been found. They serve partially to illustrate a noncommutative extension of the moving-frame formalism. All of these models suggest that there is an…
The quantum properties of two-dimensional matter-dilaton gravity ---which includes a large family of actions for two-dimensional gravity (in particular, string-inspired models)--- are investigated. The one-loop divergences in linear…