Related papers: Gravity model for topological features on a cylind…
We give a very brief introduction to the group field theory approach to quantum gravity, a generalisation of matrix models for 2-dimensional quantum gravity to higher dimension, that has emerged recently from research in spin foam models.
Mapping-class groups of 3-manifolds feature as symmetry groups in canonical quantum gravity. They are an obvious source through which topological information could be transmitted into the quantum theory. If treated as gauge symmetries,…
Topological quantum field theories containing matter fields are constructed by twisting $N=2$ supersymmetric quantum field theories. It is shown that $N=2$ chiral (antichiral) multiplets lead to topological sigma models while $N=2$ twisted…
A variational phase space is constructed for a compact and piecewise flat Riemannian manifold. An extended action functional is provided such that the variational dynamics generate a symplectic flow on the phase space. This symplectic flow…
We develop an explicit model of quantum gravity coupled to the matter fields of the Standard Model, based on the 3-group structure and the 3BF action, within the framework of higher gauge theory. The model is constructed by providing a…
We investigate the phase structure of four-dimensional quantum gravity coupled to Ising spins or Gaussian scalar fields by means of numerical simulations. The quantum gravity part is modelled by the summation over random simplicial…
The gravity is classically formulated as the geometric curvature of the space-time in general relativity which is completely different from the other well-known physical forces. Since seeking a quantum framework for the gravity is a great…
In the past decade the phenomenology of quantum gravity has been dominated by the search of violations of Lorentz invariance. However, there are very serious arguments that led us to assume that this invariance is a symmetry in Nature. This…
Using Perelman's approach for geometrical flows in terms of an entropy functional, the Higgs mechanism is studied dynamically along flows defined in the space of parameters and in fields space. The model corresponds to two-dimensional…
General covariance in quantum gravity is seen once one integrates over all possible metrics. In recent years topological field theories have given us a different route to general covariance without integrating over all possible metrics.…
We review some aspects of three-dimensional quantum gravity with emphasis in the `CFT -> Geometry' map that follows from the Brown-Henneaux conformal algebra. The general solution to the classical equations of motion with anti-de Sitter…
Finding diffeomorphism-invariant observables to characterize the properties of gravity and spacetime at the Planck scale is essential for making progress in quantum gravity. The holonomy and Wilson loop of the Levi-Civita connection are…
A retrospective analysis of the field theory of gravitation, describing gravitational field in the same way as other fields of matter in the flat space-time, is done. The field approach could be called "quantum gravidynamics" to distinguish…
Over the last two years, the canonical approach to quantum gravity based on connections and triads has been put on a firm mathematical footing through the development and application of a new functional calculus on the space of gauge…
Candidate microstates of a spherically symmetric geometry are constructed in the group field theory formalism for quantum gravity, for models including both quantum geometric and scalar matter degrees of freedom. The latter are used as a…
Some of the most outstanding questions in the field of gravitation and geometry remain unsolved as a result of our limited understanding of the global structure of the spacetime geometry and the role played by global spacetime…
Classical gravity can be described as a relational dynamical system without ever appealing to spacetime or its geometry. This description is the so-called shape dynamics description of gravity. The existence of relational first principles…
We provide a conceptual assessment of some aspects of fundamental quantum field theories of gravity in light of foundational aspects of the swampland program. On the one hand, asymptotically safe quantum gravity may provide a simple and…
We give a very concise review of the group field theory formalism for non-perturbative quantum gravity, a higher dimensional generalisation of matrix models. We motivate it as a simplicial and local realisation of the idea of 3rd…
Wilson observables for 2+1 quantum gravity with negative cosmological constant, when the spatial manifold is a torus, exhibit several novel features: signed area phases relate the observables assigned to homotopic loops, and their…