Lattice Quantum Gravity from Stochastic 3-Geometries

I propose the Langevin equation for 3-geometries in the Ashtekar's formalism to describe 4D Euclidean quantum gravity, in the sense that the corresponding Fokker-Planck hamiltonian recovers the hamiltonian in 4D quantum gravity exactly. The stochastic time corresponds to the Euclidean time in the gauge, N=1 and $N^i=0$. In this approach, the time evolution in 4D quantum gravity is understood as a stochastic process where the quantum fluctuation of ` ` triad \rq\rq is characterized by the curvature at the one unit time step before. The lattice regularization of 4D quantum gravity is presented in this context.Comment: Latex 13 pages, some references are adde

Meaning above the head: combinatorial constraints on the visual vocabulary of comics

“Upfixes” are “visual morphemes” originating in comics where an element floats above a character’s head (ex. lightbulbs or gears). We posited that, similar to constructional lexical schemas in language, upfixes use an abstract schema stored in memory, which constrains upfixes to locations above the head and requires them to “agree” with their accompanying facial expressions. We asked participants to rate and interpret both conventional and unconventional upfixes that either matched or mismatched their facial expression (Experiment 1) and/or were placed either above or beside the head (Experiment 2). Interpretations and ratings of conventionality and face–upfix matching (Experiment 1) along with overall comprehensibility (Experiment 2) suggested that both constraints operated on upfix understanding. Because these constraints modulated both conventional and unconventional upfixes, these findings support that an abstract schema stored in long-term memory allows for generalisations beyond memorised individual items