Entropy of random coverings and 4D quantum gravity

We discuss the counting of minimal geodesic ball coverings of $n$-dimensional riemannian manifolds of bounded geometry, fixed Euler characteristic and Reidemeister torsion in a given representation of the fundamental group. This counting bears relevance to the analysis of the continuum limit of discrete models of quantum gravity. We establish the conditions under which the number of coverings grows exponentially with the volume, thus allowing for the search of a continuum limit of the corresponding discretized models. The resulting entropy estimates depend on representations of the fundamental group of the manifold through the corresponding Reidemeister torsion. We discuss the sum over inequivalent representations both in the two-dimensional and in the four-dimensional case. Explicit entropy functions as well as significant bounds on the associated critical exponents are obtained in both cases.Comment: 54 pages, latex, no figure

The geometry of dynamical triangulations

We discuss the geometry of dynamical triangulations associated with 3-dimensional and 4-dimensional simplicial quantum gravity. We provide analytical expressions for the canonical partition function in both cases, and study its large volume behavior. In the space of the coupling constants of the theory, we characterize the infinite volume line and the associated critical points. The results of this analysis are found to be in excellent agreement with the MonteCarlo simulations of simplicial quantum gravity. In particular, we provide an analytical proof that simply-connected dynamically triangulated 4-manifolds undergo a higher order phase transition at a value of the inverse gravitational coupling given by 1.387, and that the nature of this transition can be concealed by a bystable behavior. A similar analysis in the 3-dimensional case characterizes a value of the critical coupling (3.845) at which hysteresis effects are present.Comment: 166 pages, Revtex (latex) fil

Ample canonical heights for endomorphisms on projective varieties

We define an "ample canonical height" for an endomorphism on a projective variety, which is essentially a generalization of the canonical heights for polarized endomorphisms introduced by Call--Silverman. We formulate a dynamical analogue of the Northcott finiteness theorem for ample canonical heights as a conjecture, and prove it for endomorphisms on varieties of small Picard numbers, abelian varieties, and surfaces. As applications, for the endomorphisms which satisfy the conjecture, we show the non-density of the set of preperiodic points over a fixed number field, and obtain a dynamical Mordell--Lang type result on the intersection of two Zariski dense orbits of two endomorphisms on a common variety.Comment: 41 pages. The previous version has a serious mistake on the proof of the main conjecture for simple abelian varieties, but the present version gives a renewed proof that works for arbitrary abelian varietie