Path Integral Representation of Lorentzian Spinfoam Model, Asymptotics, and Simplicial Geometries

TL;DR

This paper derives a new path integral form of the Lorentzian EPRL spinfoam model, linking its semiclassical limit to classical Lorentzian simplicial geometries and showing how the Regge action emerges in the large spin regime.

Contribution

It introduces a novel path integral representation of the Lorentzian EPRL spinfoam model and establishes a precise correspondence between critical configurations and classical geometries.

Findings

Large spin asymptotics recover Lorentzian Regge action.

Critical configurations classify into geometric and non-geometric types.

Only globally oriented, time-oriented configurations yield the classical Regge action.

Abstract

A new path integral representation of Lorentzian Engle-Pereira-Rovelli-Livine (EPRL) spinfoam model is derived by employing the theory of unitary representation of SL(2,$\mathbb{C}$). The path integral representation is taken as a starting point of semiclassical analysis. The relation between the spinfoam model and classical simplicial geometry is studied via the large spin asymptotic expansion of the spinfoam amplitude with all spins uniformaly large. More precisely in the large spin regime, there is an equivalence between the spinfoam critical configuration (with certain nondegeneracy assumption) and a classical Lorentzian simplicial geometry. Such an equivalence relation allows us to classify the spinfoam critical configurations by their geometrical interpretations, via two types of solution-generating maps. The equivalence between spinfoam critical configuration and simplical geometry also allows us to define the notion of globally oriented and time-oriented spinfoam critical configuration. It is shown that only at the globally oriented and time-oriented spinfoam critical configuration, the leading order contribution of spinfoam large spin asymptotics gives precisely an exponential of Lorentzian Regge action of General Relativity. At all other (unphysical) critical configurations, spinfoam large spin asymptotics modifies the Regge action at the leading order approximation.