Abstract
A number of approaches to four-dimensional quantum gravity, such as loop quantum gravity and holography, situate areas as their fundamental variables. However, this choice of kinematics can easily lead to gravitational dynamics peaked on flat spacetimes. We show that this is due to how regions are glued in the gravitational path integral via a discrete spin foam model. We introduce a family of “effective” spin foam models that incorporate a quantum area spectrum, impose gluing constraints as strongly as possible, and leverage the discrete general relativity action to specify amplitudes. These effective spin foam models avoid flatness in a restricted regime of the parameter space.
- Received 28 April 2020
- Revised 3 August 2020
- Accepted 10 November 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.231301
© 2020 American Physical Society