Related papers: Spinfoam models for M-theory
Using the techniques developed by Lunin and Maldacena we calaculate the supergravity solutions of membranes and fivebranes in the presence of a background C field. All the distinct possible C-field configurations are explored. Decoupling…
Scalar fields with masses protected by global shift symmetries, commonly referred to as axions, are abundantly used in effective field theories in cosmology and particle physics. However, global symmetries cannot be expected to be protected…
Novel theories appear on the world-volume of branes by orienting B fields along various directions of the branes. We review some of the earlier developments and explore many new examples of these theories. In particular, among other things,…
We consider the construction of a topological version of F-theory on a particular $Spin(7)$ 8-manifold which is a Calabi-Yau 3-fold times a 2-torus. We write an action for this theory in eight dimensions and reduce it to lower dimensions…
We formulate the spin foam representation of discrete SU(2) gauge theory as a product of vertex amplitudes each of which is the spin network generating function of the boundary graph dual to the vertex. In doing so the sums over spins have…
This is a nontechnical introduction to recent work on quantum gravity using ideas from higher-dimensional algebra. We argue that reconciling general relativity with the Standard Model requires a `background-free quantum theory with local…
We analyze topological mass terms of BF type arising in supersymmetric M-theory compactifications to $AdS_5$. These describe spontaneously broken higher-form gauge symmetries in the bulk. Different choices of boundary conditions for the BF…
A Kaluza-Klein like approach for a 4d spin foam model is considered. By applying this approach to a model based on group field theory in 4d (TOCY model), and using the Peter-Weyl expansion of the gravitational field, reconstruction of new…
We consider string/M-theory reductions on a compact space $X=X^\text{loc} \cup X^\circ$, where $X^\text{loc}$ contains the singular locus, and $X^\circ$ its complement. For the resulting supergravity theories, we construct a suitable…
We study orbifold group actions on locally defined fields upon M-theory branes in a three-form C-fields background. We derive some constraints from the consistency of the orbifold group actions. We show the possibility of the existence of…
The problem of background independent quantum gravity is the problem of defining a quantum field theory of matter and gravity in the absence of an underlying background geometry. Loop quantum gravity (LQG) is a promising proposal for…
We derive the the Barrett-Crane spin foam model for Euclidean 4 dimensional quantum gravity from a discretized BF theory, imposing the constraints that reduce it to gravity at the quantum level. We obtain in this way a precise prescription…
The paper contains the construction of a topological quantum field theory with corners that underlies the smooth topological quantum field theory of Lickorish. Among other things, a contraction formula for diagrams is proved, the presence…
We study global symmetry groups of six-dimensional superconformal field theories (SCFTs). In the Coulomb branch we use field theoretical arguments to predict an upper bound for the global symmetry of the SCFT. We then analyze global…
We first give a brief exposition of our recent realization of anyonic quantum states on single M5-brane probes in 11D super-gravity backgrounds, by non-perturbative quantization of the topological sector of the self-dual tensor field on the…
We provide a simple proof of the topological invariance of the Turaev-Viro model (corresponding to simplicial 3d pure Euclidean gravity with cosmological constant) by means of a novel diagrammatic formulation of the state sum models for…
We propose a new partially topological theory in three dimensions which couples Chern-Simons theory to matter. The 3-manifolds needed for this construction admit transverse holomorphic foliation (THF). The theory depends only on the choice…
All consistent interactions in five spacetime dimensions that can be added to a free BF-type model involving one scalar field, two types of one-forms, two sorts of two-forms, and one three-form are investigated by means of deforming the…
We investigate the group field theory formulation of the EPRL/FK spin foam models. These models aim at a dynamical, i.e. non-topological formulation of 4D quantum gravity. We introduce a saddle point method for general group field theory…
The supersymmetric version of a topological quantum field theory describing flat connections, the super BF-theory, is studied in the superspace formalism. A set of observables related to topological invariants is derived from the curvature…