Simplicity and closure constraints in spin foam models of gravity

Journal Article · Fri Aug 15 00:00:00 EDT 2008 · Physical Review. D, Particles Fields

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVD.78.044033· OSTI ID:21250517

Alexandrov, Sergei ^[1]

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1. Laboratoire de Physique Theorique and Astroparticules, Universite Montpellier II, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05 (France)

We revise the imposition of various constraints in spin foam models of four-dimensional general relativity. We argue that the usual simplicity constraint must be supplemented by a constraint on holonomies and together they must be inserted explicitly into the discretized path integral. At the same time, the closure constraint must be relaxed so that the new constraint expresses covariance of intertwiners assigned to tetrahedra by spin foam quantization. As a result, the spin foam boundary states are shown to be realized in terms of projected spin networks of the covariant loop approach to quantum gravity.

• OSTI ID: 21250517
• Journal Information: Physical Review. D, Particles Fields, Vol. 78, Issue 4; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.78.044033; (c) 2008 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0556-2821
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
FOUR-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
GENERAL RELATIVITY THEORY
GRAVITATION
QUANTIZATION
QUANTUM GRAVITY
SIMULATION
SPIN