Related papers: On the Initial Singularity Problem in Two Dimensio…
A model of two-dimensional quantum gravity that is the analog of the tensionless string is proposed. The gravitational constant ($k$) is the analog of the Regge slope ($\alpha^{'}$) and it shows that when $k \rightarrow \infty$, $2D$…
One of the approaches to quantum gravity is to formulate it in terms of De Rham algebra, choose a triangulation of space-time, and replace differential forms by cochains (that form a finite dimensional vector space). The key issue of…
We re-examine the nonperturbative curvature properties of two-dimensional Euclidean quantum gravity, obtained as the scaling limit of a path integral over dynamical triangulations of a two-sphere, which lies in the same universality class…
A first attempt at adding matter degrees of freedom to the two-dimensional ``vacuum'' gravity model presented in gr-qc/9907071 is analyzed in this paper. Just as in the previous pure gravity case, quantum diffeomorphism operators…
We investigate quantum cosmological models in an n-dimensional anisotropic universe in the presence of a massless scalar field. Our basic inspiration comes from Chodos and Detweiler's classical model which predicts an interesting behaviour…
We discuss the way non-perturbative quantization of cosmological spacetimes in loop quantum cosmology provides insights on the physics of Planck scale and the resolution of big bang singularity. In recent years, rigorous examination of…
Quantum cosmology has traditionally been studied at the level of symmetry-reduced minisuperspace models, analyzing the behavior of wave functions. However, in the absence of a complete full setting of quantum gravity and detailed knowledge…
The 2D gravity described by the action which is an arbitrary function of the scalar curvature $f(R)$ is considered. The classical vacuum solutions are analyzed. The one-loop renormalizability is studied. For the function $f=R \ln R$ the…
A model for quantum gravity in one (time) dimension is discussed, based on Regge's discrete formulation of gravity. The nature of exact continuous lattice diffeomorphisms and the implications for a regularized gravitational measure are…
We study a quantum Hot Big Bang in the connection representation, with a matter constant of motion m whose conjugate defines time. Superpositions in m induce a unitary inner product. The wavefunction reveals a resolution of the singularity…
We study Big-Bang or -Crunch cosmological singularities in 2-dimensional dilaton-gravity-scalar theories, in general obtained by dimensional reduction of higher dimensional theories. The dilaton potential encodes information about the…
General relativity successfully describes space-times at scales that we can observe and probe today, but it cannot be complete as a consequence of singularity theorems. For a long time there have been indications that quantum gravity will…
The Schr\"odinger equation is shown to be equivalent to a constrained Liouville equation under the assumption that phase space is extended to Grassmann algebra valued variables. For onedimensional systems, the underlying Hamiltonian…
The quantum group structure of the Liouville theory is reviewd and shown to be an important tool for solving the theory.
The structure of quantum interactions with fields of helicity two ("gravitons") is strongly constrained by three principles: positivity (Hilbert space), covariance, and locality of observables. To fulfil them simultaneously, some…
We derive the dynamics of the gravitational collapse of a homogeneous and spherically symmetric cloud in a classical set-up endowed with a topological sector of gravity and a non-minimal coupling to fermions. The effective theory consists…
General relativity becomes vastly simpler in three spacetime dimensions: all vacuum solutions have constant curvature, and the moduli space of solutions can be almost completely characterized. As a result, this lower dimensional setting…
We study scaling and renormalization in two dimensional quantum gravity in a covariant framework. After reviewing the definition of a proper path integral measure, we use scaling arguments to rederive the KPZ relations, the fractal…
The recursion relations of 2D quantum gravity coupled to the Ising model discussed by the author previously are reexamined. We study the case in which the matter sector satisfies the fusion rules and only the primary operators inside the…
We study the main options for a unitary and renormalizable, local quantum field theory of the gravitational interactions. The first model is a Lee-Wick superrenormalizable higher-derivative gravity, formulated as a nonanalytically Wick…