scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1182458
area operatorscanonical quantizationgeneral relativityHilbert quantum state spacenonperturbative quantum gravityquantum geometryreviewself-adjoint operators
Applications of global differential geometry to the sciences (53C80) Applications of global analysis to the sciences (58Z05) Research exposition (monographs, survey articles) pertaining to quantum theory (81-02) General and philosophical questions in quantum theory (81P05) Quantum field theory on curved space or space-time backgrounds (81T20) Quantization of the gravitational field (83C45)
This paper is a nice review of recent work by the author and coworkers on the nature of quantum geometry in nonperturbative quantum gravity [see, e.g., \textit{A. Ashtekar} and \textit{J. Lewandowsky}, Classical Quantum Gravity 14, A55--A81 (1997; Zbl 0866.58077); Adv. Theor. Math. Phys. 1, 388-429 (1997; Zbl 0903.58067)]. The approach discussed is based on canonical quantization and respects the principles underlying general relativity (in particular the absence of a background space-time metric in general relativity). Technically, the central point in this approach to quantize geometry is to construct self-adjoint operators on a suitable Hilbert quantum state space which represent geometric quantities like lengths of curves, areas of surfaces or volumes of regions etc. The resulting quantum geometry presented in this review is strikingly different from continuum (differential) geometry. Most notably, areas and volumes are represented by operators with a purely discrete spectrum. This well-organized review introduces the reader into the motivation and general ideas of this approach and reviews basic concepts, definitions, techniques and central results of this approach. The discussion puts the approach into a wider context. For the entire collection see [Zbl 0890.00046].
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