On the geometry of loop quantum gravity on a graph

We discuss the meaning of geometrical constructions associated to loop quantum gravity states on a graph. In particular, we discuss the "twisted geometries" and derive a simple relation between these and Regge geometries.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure. v2: some typos corrected, references update

A semiclassical tetrahedron

We construct a macroscopic semiclassical state state for a quantum tetrahedron. The expectation values of the geometrical operators representing the volume, areas and dihedral angles are peaked around assigned classical values, with vanishing relative uncertainties.Comment: 10 pages; v2 revised versio

Twisted geometries: A geometric parametrisation of SU(2) phase space

A cornerstone of the loop quantum gravity program is the fact that the phase space of general relativity on a fixed graph can be described by a product of SU(2) cotangent bundles per edge. In this paper we show how to parametrize this phase space in terms of quantities describing the intrinsic and extrinsic geometry of the triangulation dual to the graph. These are defined by the assignment to each triangle of its area, the two unit normals as seen from the two polyhedra sharing it, and an additional angle related to the extrinsic curvature. These quantities do not define a Regge geometry, since they include extrinsic data, but a looser notion of discrete geometry which is twisted in the sense that it is locally well-defined, but the local patches lack a consistent gluing among each other. We give the Poisson brackets among the new variables, and exhibit a symplectomorphism which maps them into the Poisson brackets of loop gravity. The new parametrization has the advantage of a simple description of the gauge-invariant reduced phase space, which is given by a product of phase spaces associated to edges and vertices, and it also provides an abelianisation of the SU(2) connection. The results are relevant for the construction of coherent states, and as a byproduct, contribute to clarify the connection between loop gravity and its subset corresponding to Regge geometries.Comment: 28 pages. v2 and v3 minor change

Physical boundary state for the quantum tetrahedron

We consider stability under evolution as a criterion to select a physical boundary state for the spinfoam formalism. As an example, we apply it to the simplest spinfoam defined by a single quantum tetrahedron and solve the associated eigenvalue problem at leading order in the large spin limit. We show that this fixes uniquely the free parameters entering the boundary state. Remarkably, the state obtained this way gives a correlation between edges which runs at leading order with the inverse distance between the edges, in agreement with the linearized continuum theory. Finally, we give an argument why this correlator represents the propagation of a pure gauge, consistently with the absence of physical degrees of freedom in 3d general relativity.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figure

Grasping rules and semiclassical limit of the geometry in the Ponzano-Regge model

We show how the expectation values of geometrical quantities in 3d quantum gravity can be explicitly computed using grasping rules. We compute the volume of a labelled tetrahedron using the triple grasping. We show that the large spin expansion of this value is dominated by the classical expression, and we study the next to leading order quantum corrections.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figur

Towards the graviton from spinfoams: higher order corrections in the 3d toy model

We consider the recent calculation gr-qc/0508124 of the graviton propagator in the spinfoam formalism. Within the 3d toy model introduced in gr-qc/0512102, we test how the spinfoam formalism can be used to construct the perturbative expansion of graviton amplitudes. Although the 3d graviton is a pure gauge, one can choose to work in a gauge where it is not zero and thus reproduce the structure of the 4d perturbative calculations. We compute explicitly the next to leading and next to next to leading orders, corresponding to one-loop and two-loop corrections. We show that while the first arises entirely from the expansion of the Regge action around the flat background, the latter receives contributions from the microscopic, non Regge-like, quantum geometry. Surprisingly, this new contribution reduces the magnitude of the next to next to leading order. It thus appears that the spinfoam formalism is likely to substantially modify the conventional perturbative expansion at higher orders. This result supports the interest in this approach. We then address a number of open issues in the rest of the paper. First, we discuss the boundary state ansatz, which is a key ingredient in the whole construction. We propose a way to enhance the ansatz in order to make the edge lengths and dihedral angles conjugate variables in a mathematically well-defined way. Second, we show that the leading order is stable against different choices of the face weights of the spinfoam model; the next to leading order, on the other hand, is changed in a simple way, and we show that the topological face weight minimizes it. Finally, we extend the leading order result to the case of a regular, but not equilateral, tetrahedron.Comment: 24 pages, many figure

Numerical indications on the semiclassical limit of the flipped vertex

We introduce a technique for testing the semiclassical limit of a quantum gravity vertex amplitude. The technique is based on the propagation of a semiclassical wave packet. We apply this technique to the newly introduced "flipped" vertex in loop quantum gravity, in order to test the intertwiner dependence of the vertex. Under some drastic simplifications, we find very preliminary, but surprisingly good numerical evidence for the correct classical limit.Comment: 4 pages, 8 figure

Coupling gauge theory to spinfoam 3d quantum gravity

We construct a spinfoam model for Yang-Mills theory coupled to quantum gravity in three dimensional riemannian spacetime. We define the partition function of the coupled system as a power series in g_0^2 G that can be evaluated order by order using grasping rules and the recoupling theory. With respect to previous attempts in the literature, this model assigns the dynamical variables of gravity and Yang-Mills theory to the same simplices of the spinfoam, and it thus provides transition amplitudes for the spin network states of the canonical theory. For SU(2) Yang-Mills theory we show explicitly that the partition function has a semiclassical limit given by the Regge discretization of the classical Yang-Mills action.Comment: 18 page