19 research outputs found
Canonical quantum gravity in the Vassiliev invariants arena: II. Constraints, habitats and consistency of the constraint algebra
In a companion paper we introduced a kinematical arena for the discussion of
the constraints of canonical quantum gravity in the spin network representation
based on Vassiliev invariants. In this paper we introduce the Hamiltonian
constraint, extend the space of states to non-diffeomorphism invariant
``habitats'' and check that the off-shell quantum constraint commutator algebra
reproduces the classical Poisson algebra of constraints of general relativity
without anomalies. One can therefore consider the resulting set of constraints
and space of states as a consistent theory of canonical quantum gravity.Comment: 20 Pages, RevTex, many figures included with psfi
Lattice knot theory and quantum gravity in the loop representation
We present an implementation of the loop representation of quantum gravity on
a square lattice. Instead of starting from a classical lattice theory,
quantizing and introducing loops, we proceed backwards, setting up constraints
in the lattice loop representation and showing that they have appropriate
(singular) continuum limits and algebras. The diffeomorphism constraint
reproduces the classical algebra in the continuum and has as solutions lattice
analogues of usual knot invariants. We discuss some of the invariants stemming
from Chern--Simons theory in the lattice context, including the issue of
framing. We also present a regularization of the Hamiltonian constraint. We
show that two knot invariants from Chern--Simons theory are annihilated by the
Hamiltonian constraint through the use of their skein relations, including
intersections. We also discuss the issue of intersections with kinks. This
paper is the first step towards setting up the loop representation in a
rigorous, computable setting.Comment: 23 pages, RevTeX, 14 figures included with psfi
Consistent canonical quantization of general relativity in the space of Vassiliev knot invariants
We present a quantization of the Hamiltonian and diffeomorphism constraint of
canonical quantum gravity in the spin network representation. The novelty
consists in considering a space of wavefunctions based on the Vassiliev knot
invariants. The constraints are finite, well defined, and reproduce at the
level of quantum commutators the Poisson algebra of constraints of the
classical theory. A similar construction can be carried out in 2+1 dimensions
leading to the correct quantum theory.Comment: 4 pages, RevTex, one figur
Canonical quantum gravity in the Vassiliev invariants arena: I. Kinematical structure
We generalize the idea of Vassiliev invariants to the spin network context,
with the aim of using these invariants as a kinematical arena for a canonical
quantization of gravity. This paper presents a detailed construction of these
invariants (both ambient and regular isotopic) requiring a significant
elaboration based on the use of Chern-Simons perturbation theory which extends
the work of Kauffman, Martin and Witten to four-valent networks. We show that
this space of knot invariants has the crucial property -from the point of view
of the quantization of gravity- of being loop differentiable in the sense of
distributions. This allows the definition of diffeomorphism and Hamiltonian
constraints. We show that the invariants are annihilated by the diffeomorphism
constraint. In a companion paper we elaborate on the definition of a
Hamiltonian constraint, discuss the constraint algebra, and show that the
construction leads to a consistent theory of canonical quantum gravity.Comment: 21 Pages, RevTex, many figures included with psfi
A finite spin-foam-based theory of three and four dimensional quantum gravity
Starting from Ooguri's construction for theory in three (and four) dimensions, we show how to construct a well defined theory with an infinite number of degrees of freedom. The spin network states that are kept invariant by the evolution operators of the theory are exact solutions of the Hamiltonian constraint of quantum gravity proposed by Thiemann. The resulting theory is the first example of a well defined, finite, consistent, spin-foam based theory in a situation with an infinite number of degrees of freedom. Since it solves the quantum constraints of general relativity it is also a candidate for a theory of quantum gravity. It is likely, however, that the solutions constructed correspond to a spurious sector of solutions of the constraints. The richness of the resulting theory makes it an interesting example to be analyzed by forthcoming techniques that construct the semi-classical limit of spin network quantum gravity
Yang-Mills analogues of the Immirzi ambiguity
We draw parallels between the recently introduced ``Immirzi ambiguity'' of
the Ashtekar-like formulation of canonical quantum gravity and other
ambiguities that appear in Yang-Mills theories, like the ambiguity. We
also discuss ambiguities in the Maxwell case, and implication for the loop
quantization of these theories.Comment: 5 pages, revtex, no figure
The large cosmological constant approximation to classical and quantum gravity: model examples
We have recently introduced an approach for studying perturbatively classical
and quantum canonical general relativity. The perturbative technique appears to
preserve many of the attractive features of the non-perturbative quantization
approach based on Ashtekar's new variables and spin networks. With this
approach one can find perturbatively classical observables (quantities that
have vanishing Poisson brackets with the constraints) and quantum states
(states that are annihilated by the quantum constraints). The relative ease
with which the technique appears to deal with these traditionally hard problems
opens several questions about how relevant the results produced can possibly
be. Among the questions is the issue of how useful are results for large values
of the cosmological constant and how the approach can deal with several
pathologies that are expected to be present in the canonical approach to
quantum gravity. With the aim of clarifying these points, and to make our
construction as explicit as possible, we study its application in several
simple models. We consider Bianchi cosmologies, the asymmetric top, the coupled
harmonic oscillators with constant energy density and a simple quantum
mechanical system with two Hamiltonian constraints. We find that the technique
satisfactorily deals with the pathologies of these models and offers promise
for finding (at least some) results even for small values of the cosmological
constant. Finally, we briefly sketch how the method would operate in the full
four dimensional quantum general relativity case.Comment: 21 pages, RevTex, 2 figures with epsfi
Loss of coherence from discrete quantum gravity
We show that a recent proposal for the quantization of gravity based on
discrete space-time implies a modification of standard quantum mechanics that
naturally leads to a loss of coherence in quantum states of the type discussed
by Milburn. The proposal overcomes the energy conservation problem of
previously proposed decoherence mechanisms stemming from quantum gravity.
Mesoscopic quantum systems (as Bose--Einstein condensates) appear as the most
promising testing grounds for an experimental verification of the mechanism.Comment: 4 pages, no figures, small final changes, to appear in Class. Quan.
Gra