Discrete gravity as a topological field theory with light-like curvature defects

DOI10.1007/JHEP05(2017)142zbMATH Open1380.83229arXiv1611.02784MaRDI QIDQ683049FDOQ683049

Wolfgang Wieland

Publication date: 5 February 2018

Published in: Journal of High Energy Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: I present a model of discrete gravity, which is formulated in terms of a topological gauge theory with defects. The theory has no local degrees of freedom and the gravitational field is trivial everywhere except at a number of colliding null surfaces, which represent a system of curvature defects propagating at the speed of light. The underlying action is local and it is studied in both its Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulation. The canonically conjugate variables on the null surfaces are a spinor and a spinor-valued two-surface density, which are coupled to a topological field theory for the Lorentz connection in the bulk. I discuss the relevance of the model for non-perturbative approaches to quantum gravity, such as loop quantum gravity, where similar variables have recently appeared as well.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1611.02784

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zbMATH Keywords

lattice models of gravitymodels of quantum gravitytopological field theoriescurvature defect

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Topological field theories in quantum mechanics (81T45) Quantization of the gravitational field (83C45) Relativistic gravitational theories other than Einstein's, including asymmetric field theories (83D05) Lattice gravity, Regge calculus and other discrete methods in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C27) Spinor and twistor methods in general relativity and gravitational theory; Newman-Penrose formalism (83C60)

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Cited In (13)

• Quasi-local gravitational angular momentum and centre of mass from generalised Witten equations
• Gravity model for topological features on a cylindrical manifold
• Quantum gravity in three dimensions, Witten spinors and the quantisation of length
• Generating functional for gravitational null initial data
• Edge modes of gravity. I: Corner potentials and charges
• Edge modes of gravity. II: Corner metric and Lorentz charges
• General relativity with space-time defects
• New boundary variables for classical and quantum gravity on a null surface
• Relation between Regge calculus and BF theory on manifolds with defects
• Fock representation of gravitational boundary modes and the discreteness of the area spectrum
• Twistor representation of Jackiw –Teitelboim gravity
• Edge modes of gravity. III: Corner simplicity constraints
• Gravity from symmetry: duality and impulsive waves

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