Quantum Gravity

The space of convex polyhedra can be given a dynamical structure. Exploiting this dynamics we have performed a Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization of the volume of a tetrahedral grain of space, which is in excellent agreement with loop gravity. Here we present investigations of the volume of a 5-faced convex polyhedron. We give for the first time a constructive method for finding these polyhedra given their face areas and normals to the faces and find an explicit formula for the volume. This results
in new information about cylindrical consistency in loop gravity and a couple of surprises about polyhedra. In particular, we are interested in discovering whether the evolution generated by this volume is chaotic or integrable as this will impact the interpretation of the spin network basis in loop gravity. 

In spacetime physics any set C of events—a causal set—is taken to be partially ordered by the relation £ of possible causation: for p, q Î C,   p £ q means that q is in p’s future light cone. Fotini Markopoulou has proposed that the causal structure of spacetime itself be represented by “sets evolving over C” —that is, in essence, by the topos Set C of presheaves on Cop.  In this talk I am going to show how Set  C may be effectively replaced by a certain model V(H) of intuitionistic set theory—frame-valued set theory—with (I hope) illuminating results. In particular, Markopoulou’s idea of viewing the universe “from the inside” will amount to placing oneself “inside” V(H). I will also sketch the role played in this framework by covering schemes and sheaves.