Spin foam models, an approach to defining the dynamics of loop quantum gravity, make use of the Plebanski formulation of gravity, in which gravity is recovered from a topological field theory via certain constraints called simplicity constraints. However, the simplicity constraints in their usual form select more than just one gravitational sector as well as a degenerate sector. This was shown, in previous work, to be the reason for the "extra" terms appearing in the semiclassical limit of the Euclidean EPRL amplitude. In this previous work, a way to eliminate the extra sectors, and hence terms, was developed, leading to the what was called the Euclidean proper vertex amplitude. In the present work, these results are extended to the Lorentzian signature, establishing what is called the Lorentzian proper vertex amplitude. This extension is non-trivial and involves a number of new elements since, for Lorentzian bivectors, the split into self-dual and anti-self-dual parts, on which the Euclidean derivation was based, is no longer available. In fact, the classical parts of the present derivation provide not only an extension to the Lorentzian case, but also, with minor modifications, provide a new, more four dimensionally covariant derivation for the Euclidean case. The new elements in the quantum part of the derivation are due to the different structure of unitary representations of the Lorentz group.
Simple derivation of the classical generalized Moller-Wu-Lee transformations from general master equation is presented.We will argue that in fact we can implement Born's notion of rigid motion in both flat spacetime and arbitrary curved non-holonomic spacetimes containing classical and Colombeau's distributional sources.
Spin foam models for gravity or BF theory can be constructed by path integral formulation of the classical discrete models formulated on simplicial manifolds. Using this, we discuss the rigorous construction of Lorentzian spin foam models for gravity and BF theory based on the Gelfand-Naimark theory of the representations of SL(2,C). First we construct the simplex amplitude for the BF SL(2,C) model. Next we discuss the implementation of the Barrett-Crane constraints on this model to derive the spin foam model for gravity. The non-trivial constraints are the cross simplicity constraints which s…
Causal set quantum gravity is a Lorentzian approach to quantum gravity, based on the causal structure of spacetime. It models each spacetime configuration as a discrete causal network of spacetime points. As such, key questions of the approach include whether and how a reconstruction of a sufficiently coarse-grained spacetime geometry is possible from a causal set. As an example for the recovery of spatial geometry from discrete causal structure, the construction of a spatial distance function for causal sets is reviewed. Secondly, it is an open question whether the path sum over all causal se…
We derive a sufficient set of conditions on the Euclidean boundary theory in dS/CFT for it to predict classical, Lorentzian bulk evolution at large spatial volumes. Our derivation makes use of a canonical transformation to express the bulk wave function at large volume in terms of the sources of the dual partition function. This enables a sharper formulation of dS/CFT. The conditions under which the boundary theory predicts classical bulk evolution are stronger than the criteria usually employed in quantum cosmology. We illustrate this in a homogeneous isotropic minisuperspace model of gravity…
A study of proper affine vector fields in non static axially symmetric space-times is given by using holonomy and decomposability, the rank of the 6X6 Riemann matrix and direct integration techniques. It is shown that the special class of the above space-times admits proper affine vector fields.
We considered the most general form of non-static cylindrically symmetric space-times for studying proper curvature symmetry by using the rank of the 6X6 Riemann matrix and direct integration techniques. Studying proper curvature symmetry in each case of the above space-times it is shown that when the above space-times admit proper curvature symmetry, they form an infinite dimensional vector space.
A complete study of Kantowski-Sachs and Bianchi type III space-times according to their proper homothetic vector fields is given by using direct integration technique. Using the above mentioned technique we have shown that very special classes of the above space-times admit proper homothetic vector fields. The dimension of homothetic vector fields is five.
Fruitful ideas on how to quantize gravity are few and far between. In this paper, we give a complete description of a recently introduced non-perturbative gravitational path integral whose continuum limit has already been investigated extensively in d less than 4, with promising results. It is based on a simplicial regularization of Lorentzian space-times and, most importantly, possesses a well-defined, non-perturbative Wick rotation. We present a detailed analysis of the geometric and mathematical properties of the discretized model in d=3,4. This includes a derivation of Lorentzian simplicia…
In previous work, the Lorentzian proper vertex amplitude for a spin-foam model of quantum gravity was derived. In the present work, the asymptotics of this amplitude are studied in the semi-classical limit. The starting point of the analysis is an expression for the amplitude as an action integral with action differing from that in the EPRL case by an extra `projector' term which scales linearly with spins only in the asymptotic limit, and is discontinuous on a submanifold of the integration domain. New tools are introduced to generalize stationary phase methods to this case. For the case of b…
It has been speculated that Lorentzian wormholes of the Morris- Thorne type might be allowed by the laws of physics at submicroscopic, e.g. Planck, scales and that a sufficiently advanced civilization might be able to enlarge them to classical size. The purpose of this paper is to explore the possibility that inflation might provide a natural mechanism for the enlargement of such wormholes to macroscopic size. A new classical metric is presented for a Lorentzian wormhole which is imbedded in a flat deSitter space. It is shown that the throat and proper length of the wormhole inflate. The resul…
We construct and analyse a quantum deformation of the Lorentzian EPRL model. The model is based on the representation theory of the quantum Lorentz group with real deformation parameter. We give a definition of the quantum EPRL intertwiner, study its convergence and braiding properties and construct an amplitude for the four-simplexes. We find that the resulting model is finite.
Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG) is a non-perturbative attempt at quantization of a classical phase space description of gravity in terms of $SU(2)$ connections and electric fields. As emphasized recently [1], on this phase space, classical gravitational evolution in $time$ can be understood in terms of certain gauge covariant generalizations of Lie derivatives with respect to a $spatial$ $SU(2)$ Lie algebra valued vector field called the Electric Shift. We present a derivation of a quantum dynamics for Euclidean LQG which is informed by this understanding. In addition to the physically motivated na…
In the context of modified $f(R)$ gravity, we attempt to study the thermodynamic properties of the evolving Lorentzian wormholes at the apparent horizon. It is shown that the wormhole can be derived from a particular $f(R)$ model in the radiation background. Moreover, it has been shown that the field equations can be cast to a similar form $dE = TdS + WdV + Td\bar{S}$ at the apparent horizon for the evolving Lorentzian wormhole. Compared to the case of Einstein's general relativity, an additional term $Td\bar{S}$ appears here.
Wormholes can be described as geometrical structures in space and time that can serve as connection between distant regions of the universe. Mathematically, general wormholes can be defined both on stationary as well as on dynamic line elements. However, general relativistic and evolving Lorentzian wormholes are less studied than their static wormhole counterpart. Accordingly, in this work we shall focus on some evolving wormhole geometries. Starting from a general class of spherically symmetric line element supporting wormhole geometries, we shall use the Einstein's field equations to develop…
Two spherically symmetric, static Lorentzian wormholes are obtained in tetrad theory of gravitation as a solution of the equation $ρ=ρ_t=0$, where $ρ=T_{ij}u^iu^j, ρ_t=(T_{ij}-{1/2}Tg_{ij})u^iu^j$ and $u^iu_i=-1$. This equation characterizes a class of spacetime which are "self-dual" (in the sense of electrogravity duality). The obtained solutions are characterized by two-parameters $k_1, k_2$ and have a common property that they reproduce the same metric spacetime. This metric is the static Lorentzian wormhole and it includes the Schwarzschild black hole. Calculating the energy content of the…
Euclidean continuation of several Lorentzian spacetimes with horizons requires treating the Euclidean time coordinate to be periodic with some period $β$. Such spacetimes (Schwarzschild, deSitter,Rindler .....) allow a temperature $T=β^{-1}$ to be associated with the horizon. I construct a canonical ensemble of a subclass of such spacetimes with a fixed value for $β$ and evaluate the partition function $Z(β)$. For spherically symmetric spacetimes with a horizon at r=a, the partition function has the generic form $Z\propto \exp[S-βE]$, where $S= (1/4) 4πa^2$ and $|E|=(a/2)$. Both S and E are de…
Caianiello's derivation of Quantum Geometry through an isometric embedding of the spacetime ({\bf M},\tilde{g}) in the pseudo-Riemannian structure ({\bf T^*M},g^*_{AB}) is reconsidered. In the new derivation, a non-linear connection and the bundle %%@ formalism induce a Lorentzian-type structure in the 4-dimensional manifold {\bf M} that is covariant %%@ under arbitrary local coordinate transformations in {\bf M}. If models with maximal acceleration are required to be non-trivial, gravity should be supplied with other interactions in a unification framework.
We uncover a surprising correspondence between a non-perturbative formulation of three-dimensional Lorentzian quantum gravity and a hermitian two-matrix model with ABAB-interaction. The gravitational transfer matrix can be expressed as the logarithm of a two-matrix integral, and we deduce from the known structure of the latter that the model has two phases. In the phase of weak gravity, well-defined two-dimensional universes propagate in proper time, whereas in the strong-coupling phase the spatial hypersurfaces disintegrate into many components connected by wormholes.
A certain operator $\T=\int_{\SL}\dd g\, Y^{\dagger}gY$ can be found in various Lorentzian EPRL calculations. The properties of this operator has been studied here in large $j$ limit. The leading order of $\T$ is proportional to the identity operator. Knowing the operator $\T$ one can renormalize spin-foam's edge self-energy by computing the amplitude of sum of a series of edges with increasing number of vertices and bubbles. This amplitude is calculated and is shown to be convergent. Moreover some technical tools useful in Lorentzian Spin-Foam calculation has been developed.
Covariant models of loop quantum gravity generically imply dynamical signature change at high density. This article presents detailed derivations that show the fruitful interplay of this new kind of signature change with wave-function proposals of quantum cosmology, such as the no-boundary and tunneling proposals. In particular, instabilities of inhomogeneous perturbations found in a Lorentzian path-integral treatment are naturally cured. Importantly, dynamical signature change does not require Planckian densities when off-shell instantons are relevant.
In three spacetime dimensions, we propose a generally covariant Lorentzian action of the classicalized holographic tensor network (cHTN) as the holographic reduction of the Einstein-Hilbert action of gravity in the presence of a negative cosmological constant. In this article, first, we investigate the properties of this Lorentzian action in the ground state. Next, based on the Euclidean action of the cHTN, we derive the gravity perturbation induced by a massive particle at rest in the cHTN as the Unruh effect. Finally, we view our holographic formulation of spacetime as a non-equilibrium seco…
In this work we introduce the taxicab and uniform products for Lorentzian pre-length spaces. We further use these concepts to endow the space $D(R\times_T X)$ of causal diamonds with a Lorentzian length space structure, closely relating its causal properties with its geometry as a metric space furnished with its associated Hausdorff distance. Among the general results, we show that this space is geodesic and globally hyperbolic for complete $X$.
A well-defined regularized path integral for Lorentzian quantum gravity in three and four dimensions is constructed, given in terms of a sum over dynamically triangulated causal space-times. Each Lorentzian geometry and its associated action have a unique Wick rotation to the Euclidean sector. All space-time histories possess a distinguished notion of a discrete proper time. For finite lattice volume, the associated transfer matrix is self-adjoint and bounded. The reflection positivity of the model ensures the existence of a well-defined Hamiltonian. The degenerate geometric phases found previ…
We formulate a non-perturbative lattice model of two-dimensional Lorentzian quantum gravity by performing the path integral over geometries with a causal structure. The model can be solved exactly at the discretized level. Its continuum limit coincides with the theory obtained by quantizing 2d continuum gravity in proper-time gauge, but it disagrees with 2d gravity defined via matrix models or Liouville theory. By allowing topology change of the compact spatial slices (i.e. baby universe creation), one obtains agreement with the matrix models and Liouville theory.
We construct a positive complexifier, differentiable almost everywhere on the classical phase space of real triads and $SU(2)$ connections, which generates a Wick Transform from Euclidean to Lorentzian gravity everywhere except on a phase space set of measure zero. This Wick transform assigns an equal role to the self dual and anti-self dual Ashtekar variables in quantum theory. We argue that the appropriate quantum arena for an analysis of the properties of the Wick rotation is the diffeomorphism invariant Hilbert space of Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG) rather than its kinematic Hilbert space. We…
Holographic entanglement entropy was recently recast in terms of Riemannian flows or 'bit threads'. We consider the Lorentzian analog to reformulate the 'complexity=volume' conjecture using Lorentzian flows -- timelike vector fields whose minimum flux through a boundary subregion is equal to the volume of the homologous maximal bulk Cauchy slice. By the nesting of Lorentzian flows, holographic complexity is shown to obey a number of properties. Particularly, the rate of complexity is bounded below by conditional complexity, describing a multi-step optimization with intermediate and final targe…
Under normal circumstances most members of the general relativity community focus almost exclusively on the local properties of spacetime, such as the locally Euclidean structure of the manifold and the Lorentzian signature of the metric tensor. When combined with the classical Einstein field equations this gives an extremely successful empirical model of classical gravity and classical matter --- at least as long as one does not ask too many awkward questions about global issues, (such as global topology and global causal structure). We feel however that this is a tactical error --- even with…
The concept of effective dynamics has proven successful in LQC, a loop-inspired quantization of cosmological spacetimes. We apply the same idea of its derivation in LQC to the full theory, by computing the expectation value of the scalar constraint with respect to some coherent states peaked on the phase-space variables of flat Robertson-Walker spacetime. We comment on the relation with effective LQC and find a deviation stemming from the Lorentzian part of the Hamiltonian.
Three-dimensional Lorentzian quantum gravity, expressed as the continuum limit of a nonperturbative sum over spacetimes, is tantalizingly close to being amenable to analytical methods, and some of its properties have been described in terms of effective matrix and other models. To gain a more detailed understanding of three-dimensional quantum gravity, we perform a numerical investigation of the nature of spatial hypersurfaces in three-dimensional Causal Dynamical Triangulations (CDT). We measure and analyze several quantum observables, the entropy exponent, the local and global Hausdorff dime…
In an extension of earlier work we investigate the behaviour of two-dimensional Lorentzian quantum gravity under coupling to a conformal field theory with c>1. This is done by analyzing numerically a system of eight Ising models (corresponding to c=4) coupled to dynamically triangulated Lorentzian geometries. It is known that a single Ising model couples weakly to Lorentzian quantum gravity, in the sense that the Hausdorff dimension of the ensemble of two-geometries is two (as in pure Lorentzian quantum gravity) and the matter behaviour is governed by the Onsager exponents. By increasing the a…
We have recently introduced a discrete model of Lorentzian quantum gravity, given as a regularized non-perturbative state sum over simplicial Lorentzian space-times, each possessing a unique Wick rotation to Euclidean signature. We investigate here the phase structure of the Wick-rotated path integral in three dimensions with the aid of computer simulations. After fine-tuning the cosmological constant to its critical value, we find a whole range of the gravitational coupling constant $k_0$ for which the functional integral is dominated by non-degenerate three-dimensional space-times. We theref…
