380 research outputs found
Group field theories for all loop quantum gravity
Group field theories represent a 2nd quantized reformulation of the loop
quantum gravity state space and a completion of the spin foam formalism. States
of the canonical theory, in the traditional continuum setting, have support on
graphs of arbitrary valence. On the other hand, group field theories have
usually been defined in a simplicial context, thus dealing with a restricted
set of graphs. In this paper, we generalize the combinatorics of group field
theories to cover all the loop quantum gravity state space. As an explicit
example, we describe the GFT formulation of the KKL spin foam model, as well as
a particular modified version. We show that the use of tensor model tools
allows for the most effective construction. In order to clarify the
mathematical basis of our construction and of the formalisms with which we
deal, we also give an exhaustive description of the combinatorial structures
entering spin foam models and group field theories, both at the level of the
boundary states and of the quantum amplitudes.Comment: version published in New Journal of Physic
A novel haptic model and environment for maxillofacial surgical operation planning and manipulation
This paper presents a practical method and a new haptic model to support manipulations of bones and their segments during the planning of a surgical operation in a virtual environment using a haptic interface. To perform an effective dental surgery it is important to have all the operation related information of the patient available beforehand in order to plan the operation and avoid any complications. A haptic interface with a virtual and accurate patient model to support the planning of bone cuts is therefore critical, useful and necessary for the surgeons. The system proposed uses DICOM images taken from a digital tomography scanner and creates a mesh model of the filtered skull, from which the jaw bone can be isolated for further use. A novel solution for cutting the bones has been developed and it uses the haptic tool to determine and define the bone-cutting plane in the bone, and this new approach creates three new meshes of the original model. Using this approach the computational power is optimized and a real time feedback can be achieved during all bone manipulations. During the movement of the mesh cutting, a novel friction profile is predefined in the haptical system to simulate the force feedback feel of different densities in the bone
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