337 research outputs found
Hidden Quantum Gravity in 3d Feynman diagrams
In this work we show that 3d Feynman amplitudes of standard QFT in flat and
homogeneous space can be naturally expressed as expectation values of a
specific topological spin foam model. The main interest of the paper is to set
up a framework which gives a background independent perspective on usual field
theories and can also be applied in higher dimensions. We also show that this
Feynman graph spin foam model, which encodes the geometry of flat space-time,
can be purely expressed in terms of algebraic data associated with the Poincare
group. This spin foam model turns out to be the spin foam quantization of a BF
theory based on the Poincare group, and as such is related to a quantization of
3d gravity in the limit where the Newton constant G_N goes to 0. We investigate
the 4d case in a companion paper where the strategy proposed here leads to
similar results.Comment: 35 pages, 4 figures, some comments adde
N=2 supersymmetric spin foams in three dimensions
We construct the spin foam model for N=2 supergravity in three dimensions.
Classically, it is a BF theory with gauge algebra osp(2|2). This algebra has
representations which are not completely reducible. This complicates the
procedure when building a state sum. Fortunately, one can and should excise
these representations. We show that the restricted subset of representations
form a subcategory closed under tensor product. The resulting state-sum is once
again a topological invariant. Furthermore, within this framework one can
identify positively and negatively charged fermions propagating on the spin
foam. These results on osp(2|2) representations and intertwiners apply more
generally to spin network states for N=2 loop quantum supergravity (in 3+1
dimensions) where it allows to define a notion of BPS states.Comment: 12 page
Emergent non-commutative matter fields from Group Field Theory models of quantum spacetime
We offer a perspective on some recent results obtained in the context of the
group field theory approach to quantum gravity, on top of reviewing them
briefly. These concern a natural mechanism for the emergence of non-commutative
field theories for matter directly from the GFT action, in both 3 and 4
dimensions and in both Riemannian and Lorentzian signatures. As such they
represent an important step, we argue, in bridging the gap between a quantum,
discrete picture of a pre-geometric spacetime and the effective continuum
geometric physics of gravity and matter, using ideas and tools from field
theory and condensed matter analog gravity models, applied directly at the GFT
level.Comment: 13 pages, no figures; uses JPConf style; contribution to the
proceedings of the D.I.C.E. 2008 worksho
U(N) tools for Loop Quantum Gravity: The Return of the Spinor
We explore the classical setting for the U(N) framework for SU(2)
intertwiners for loop quantum gravity (LQG) and describe the corresponding
phase space in terms of spinors with appropriate constraints. We show how its
quantization leads back to the standard Hilbert space of intertwiner states
defined as holomorphic functionals. We then explain how to glue these
intertwiners states in order to construct spin network states as wave-functions
on the spinor phase space. In particular, we translate the usual loop gravity
holonomy observables to our classical framework. Finally, we propose how to
derive our phase space structure from an action principle which induces
non-trivial dynamics for the spin network states. We conclude by applying
explicitly our framework to states living on the simple 2-vertex graph and
discuss the properties of the resulting Hamiltonian.Comment: 23 page
Ponzano-Regge model revisited III: Feynman diagrams and Effective field theory
We study the no gravity limit G_{N}-> 0 of the Ponzano-Regge amplitudes with
massive particles and show that we recover in this limit Feynman graph
amplitudes (with Hadamard propagator) expressed as an abelian spin foam model.
We show how the G_{N} expansion of the Ponzano-Regge amplitudes can be
resummed. This leads to the conclusion that the dynamics of quantum particles
coupled to quantum 3d gravity can be expressed in terms of an effective new non
commutative field theory which respects the principles of doubly special
relativity. We discuss the construction of Lorentzian spin foam models
including Feynman propagatorsComment: 46 pages, the wrong file was first submitte
Coupling of spacetime atoms and spin foam renormalisation from group field theory
We study the issue of coupling among 4-simplices in the context of spin foam
models obtained from a group field theory formalism. We construct a
generalisation of the Barrett-Crane model in which an additional coupling
between the normals to tetrahedra, as defined in different 4-simplices that
share them, is present. This is realised through an extension of the usual
field over the group manifold to a five argument one. We define a specific
model in which this coupling is parametrised by an additional real parameter
that allows to tune the degree of locality of the resulting model,
interpolating between the usual Barrett-Crane model and a flat BF-type one.
Moreover, we define a further extension of the group field theory formalism in
which the coupling parameter enters as a new variable of the field, and the
action presents derivative terms that lead to modified classical equations of
motion. Finally, we discuss the issue of renormalisation of spin foam models,
and how the new coupled model can be of help regarding this.Comment: RevTeX, 18 pages, no figure
Revisiting the Simplicity Constraints and Coherent Intertwiners
In the context of loop quantum gravity and spinfoam models, the simplicity
constraints are essential in that they allow to write general relativity as a
constrained topological BF theory. In this work, we apply the recently
developed U(N) framework for SU(2) intertwiners to the issue of imposing the
simplicity constraints to spin network states. More particularly, we focus on
solving them on individual intertwiners in the 4d Euclidean theory. We review
the standard way of solving the simplicity constraints using coherent
intertwiners and we explain how these fit within the U(N) framework. Then we
show how these constraints can be written as a closed u(N) algebra and we
propose a set of U(N) coherent states that solves all the simplicity
constraints weakly for an arbitrary Immirzi parameter.Comment: 28 page
New tools for Loop Quantum Gravity with applications to a simple model
Loop Quantum Gravity is now a well established approach to quantum gravity.
One of the main challenges still faced by the theory is constructing a
consistent dynamics which would lead back to the standard dynamics of the
gravitational field at large scales. Here we will review the recent U(N)
framework for Loop Quantum Gravity and the new spinor representation (that
provides a classical setting for the U(N) framework). Then, we will apply these
techniques to a simple model in order to propose a dynamics for a symmetry
reduced sector of the theory. Furthermore, we will explore certain analogies of
this model with Loop Quantum Cosmology.Comment: 4 pages, to appear in Proceedings of Spanish Relativity Meeting 2011
(ERE 2011) held in Madrid, Spai
Noncommutative Harmonic Analysis, Sampling Theory and the Duflo Map in 2+1 Quantum Gravity
We show that the -product for , group Fourier transform and
effective action arising in [1] in an effective theory for the integer spin
Ponzano-Regge quantum gravity model are compatible with the noncommutative
bicovariant differential calculus, quantum group Fourier transform and
noncommutative scalar field theory previously proposed for 2+1 Euclidean
quantum gravity using quantum group methods in [2]. The two are related by a
classicalisation map which we introduce. We show, however, that noncommutative
spacetime has a richer structure which already sees the half-integer spin
information. We argue that the anomalous extra `time' dimension seen in the
noncommutative geometry should be viewed as the renormalisation group flow
visible in the coarse-graining in going from to . Combining our
methods we develop practical tools for noncommutative harmonic analysis for the
model including radial quantum delta-functions and Gaussians, the Duflo map and
elements of `noncommutative sampling theory'. This allows us to understand the
bandwidth limitation in 2+1 quantum gravity arising from the bounded
momentum and to interpret the Duflo map as noncommutative compression. Our
methods also provide a generalised twist operator for the -product.Comment: 53 pages latex, no figures; extended the intro for this final versio
Holomorphic Simplicity Constraints for 4d Spinfoam Models
Within the framework of spinfoam models, we revisit the simplicity
constraints reducing topological BF theory to 4d Riemannian gravity. We use the
reformulation of SU(2) intertwiners and spin networks in term of spinors, which
has come out from both the recently developed U(N) framework for SU(2)
intertwiners and the twisted geometry approach to spin networks and spinfoam
boundary states. Using these tools, we are able to perform a
holomorphic/anti-holomorphic splitting of the simplicity constraints and define
a new set of holomorphic simplicity constraints, which are equivalent to the
standard ones at the classical level and which can be imposed strongly on
intertwiners at the quantum level. We then show how to solve these new
holomorphic simplicity constraints using coherent intertwiner states. We
further define the corresponding coherent spin network functionals and
introduce a new spinfoam model for 4d Riemannian gravity based on these
holomorphic simplicity constraints and whose amplitudes are defined from the
evaluation of the new coherent spin networks.Comment: 27 page
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