Progress in Group Field Theory and Related Quantum Gravity Formalisms

• Other Authors: Gielen, Steffen (Editor), Carrozza, Sylvain (Editor), Oriti, Daniele (Editor)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2020
• Subjects: Research & information: general; Mathematics & science; quantum-gravity phenomenology; hypersurface deformation algebra; loop quantum gravity; black holes; no-boundary proposal; loop quantum cosmology; LQC instanton; quantum gravity; computer simulations; numerical methods; renormalization group; discrete quantum gravity models; nonperturbative renormalization group; random geometry; mimetic gravity; limiting curvature; bouncing cosmology; effective field theory; quantum geometry; quantum cosmology; group field theory; cosmological perturbation theory; Lewis-Riesenfeld invariant; Bogoliubov transformation; adiabatic vacua; Spin networks; vertex amplitudes; quantum computing; background independence; generalised statistical equilibrium; entropy; holographic entanglement; random tensor networks; quantum many-body physics
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

Following the fundamental insights from quantum mechanics and general relativity, geometry itself should have a quantum description; the search for a complete understanding of this description is what drives the field of quantum gravity. Group field theory is an ambitious framework in which theories of quantum geometry are formulated, incorporating successful ideas from the fields of matrix models, ten-sor models, spin foam models and loop quantum gravity, as well as from the broader areas of quantum field theory and mathematical physics. This special issue collects recent work in group field theory and these related approaches, as well as other neighbouring fields (e.g., cosmology, quantum information and quantum foundations, statistical physics) to the extent that these are directly relevant to quantum gravity research.