Related papers: Spin Networks and Quantum Gravity
We describe a deformation of the observable algebra of quantum gravity in which the loop algebra is extended to framed loops. This allows an alternative nonperturbative quantization which is suitable for describing a phase of quantum…
The discrete picture of geometry arising from the loop representation of quantum gravity can be extended by a quantum deformation. The operators for area and volume defined in the q-deformation of the theory are partly diagonalized. The…
An anomaly-free operator corresponding to the Wheeler-DeWitt constraint of Lorentzian, four-dimensional, canonical, non-perturbative vacuum gravity is constructed in the continuum. This operator is entirely free of factor ordering…
We perform a quantization of the loop gravity phase space purely in terms of spinorial variables, which have recently been shown to provide a direct link between spin network states and simplicial geometries. The natural Hilbert space to…
A spin network is a generalization of a knot or link: a graph embedded in space, with edges labelled by representations of a Lie group, and vertices labelled by intertwining operators. Such objects play an important role in 3-dimensional…
This series of lectures gives a simple and self-contained introduction to the non-perturbative and background independent loop approach of canonical quantum gravity. The Hilbert space of kinematical quantum states is constructed and a…
We propose a new representation for gauge theories and quantum gravity. It can be viewed as a generalization of the loop representation. We make use of a recently introduced extension of the group of loops into a Lie Group. This extension…
New results from the new variables/loop representation program of nonperturbative quantum gravity are presented, with a focus on results of Ashtekar, Rovelli and the author which greatly clarify the physical interpretation of the quantum…
We study the operator that corresponds to the measurement of volume, in non-perturbative quantum gravity, and we compute its spectrum. The operator is constructed in the loop representation, via a regularization procedure; it is finite,…
In this paper we will make a survey of solutions to the Wheeler-Dewitt equation which have been found up to now in Ashtekar's formulation for canonical quantum gravity. Roughly speaking they are classified into two categories, namely,…
In this work, we extend the so-called typicality approach, originally formulated in statistical mechanics contexts, to $SU(2)$-invariant spin-network states. Our results do not depend on the physical interpretation of the spin network;…
Non-perturbative approaches to quantum gravity call for a deep understanding of the emergence of geometry and locality from the quantum state of the gravitational field. Without background geometry, the notion of distance should entirely…
Loop Quantum Gravity defines the quantum states of space geometry as spin networks and describes their evolution in time. We reformulate spin networks in terms of harmonic oscillators and show how the holographic degrees of freedom of the…
In loop quantum gravity approach to Planck scale physics, quantum geometry is represented by superposition of the so-called spin network states. In the recent literature, a class of spin networks promising from the perspective of quantum…
A new representation of Quantum Gravity is developed. This formulation is based on an extension of the group of loops. The enlarged group, that we call the Extended Loop Group, behaves locally as an infinite dimensional Lie group. Quantum…
Results that illuminate the physical interpretation of states of nonperturbative quantum gravity are obtained using the recently introduced loop variables. It is shown that: i) While local operators such as the metric at a point may not be…
We investigate the Hilbert space in the Lorentz covariant approach to loop quantum gravity. We restrict ourselves to the space where all area operators are simultaneously diagonalizable, assuming that it exists. In this sector quantum…
Spin networks in loop quantum gravity provide a kinematical picture of quantum geometry but lack a natural mechanism for dynamical Dirac-type evolution, while the Wheeler--DeWitt equation typically enters only as an imposed constraint. We…
We use the recently introduced U(N) framework for loop quantum gravity to study the dynamics of spin network states on the simplest class of graphs: two vertices linked with an arbitrary number N of edges. Such graphs represent two regions,…
Quantum states of geometry in loop quantum gravity are defined as spin networks, which are graph dressed with SU(2) representations. A spin network edge carries a half-integer spin, representing basic quanta of area, and the standard…