Related papers: A note on simplicial dimension shifting
Traditionally, scalar $\phi^4$ theory in four dimensions is thought to be quantum trivial in the continuum. This tradition is apparently well grounded both in physics arguments and mathematical proofs. Digging into the proofs one finds that…
We construct a relative version of the Crane-Yetter topological quantum field theory in four dimensions, from non-semisimple data. Our theory is defined relative to the classical $G$-gauge theory in five dimensions -- this latter theory…
A dual formulation of group field theories, obtained by a Fourier transform mapping functions on a group to functions on its Lie algebra, has been proposed recently. In the case of the Ooguri model for SO(4) BF theory, the variables of the…
We provide, with proofs, a complete description of the authors' construction of state-sum invariants announced in [CY], and its generalization to an arbitrary (artinian) semisimple tortile category. We also discuss the relationship of these…
Present-day quantum field theory can be regularized by a decomposition into quantum simplices. This replaces the infinite-dimensional Hilbert space by a high-dimensional spinor space and singular canonical Lie groups by regular spin groups.…
Simplicial approximation and the ideas associated with the Regge calculus.provide a concrete way of implementing a sum over histories formulation ofquantum gravity. A four-dimensional simplicial geometry is made up of flat four-simplices…
In order to include nontrivial spatial topologies in the problem of quantum creation of a universe, it seems to be necessary to generalize the sum over compact, smooth 4-manifolds to a sum over finite-volume, compact 4-orbifolds. We…
We show that the phase transition previously observed in dynamical triangulation models of quantum gravity can be understood as being due to the creation of a singular link. The transition between singular and non-singular geometries as the…
For a compact connected manifold M of dimension n greater than 3 and with no metric of positive scalar curvature, we prove that the Yamabe invariant is unchanged under surgery on spheres of dimension different from 1, n-2 and n-1. We use…
The recent interest in modified theories of gravity, involving some type of non-minimal coupling to the Ricci scalar, and the calculation of cosmological observables in the Einstein or the Jordan frame, motivate the formulation of these…
I review some recent results on four-manifold invariants which have been obtained in the context of topological quantum field theory. I focus on three different aspects: (a) the computation of correlation functions, which give explicit…
The four-dimensional gauge group of general relativity corresponds to arbitrary coordinate transformations on a four-manifold. Theories of gravity with a dynamical structure remarkably like Einstein's theory can be obtained on the basis of…
Equivariant quantization is a new theory that highlights the role of symmetries in the relationship between classical and quantum dynamical systems. These symmetries are also one of the reasons for the recent interest in quantization of…
We consider complex invariants associated with compact real three-dimensional hyperbolic spaces. The contribution of the Chern-Simons invariants of irreducible U(n)-flat connections on hyperbolic fibered manifolds to the low order expansion…
I illustrate a simple hamiltonian formulation of general relativity, derived from the work of Esposito, Gionti and Stornaiolo, which is manifestly 4d generally covariant and is defined over a finite dimensional space. The spacetime…
The attempt of extending to higher dimensions the matrix model formulation of two-dimensional quantum gravity leads to the consideration of higher rank tensor models. We discuss how these models relate to four dimensional quantum gravity…
Group theory indicates the existence of a $SO(8) X SO(7) \subset SO(16)$ invariant self-duality equation for a 3-form in 16 dimensions. It is a signal for interesting topological field theories, especially on 8-dimensional manifolds with…
We consider $O(N)$-symmetric bosonic $\phi^4$ field theories above four dimensions, and propose a new reformulation in terms of an irreducible tensorial field with a cubic and Yukawa terms. The $\phi^4$ field theory so rewritten exhibits…
String theory, as a theory containing quantum gravity, is usually thought to require more dimensions of spacetime than the usual 3+1. Here I argue on physical grounds that needing extra dimensions for strings may well be an artefact of…
The purpose of this contribution is to show how a nuclear field theory follows naturally from the structure of four-dimensional Riemannian geometry. A Yang-Mills field is introduced by constructing fibres that include all possible exchanges…