Fermions in Quantum Gravity

TL;DR

This paper develops a non-perturbative quantum theory of fermions coupled with gravity using loop quantum gravity techniques, revealing a finite, background-independent Hamiltonian with a simple geometric interpretation.

Contribution

It extends loop quantum gravity to include fermions by constructing fermion loop variables and a corresponding Hamiltonian operator, preserving geometric features of pure quantum gravity.

Findings

Fermions incorporated via open curves in loop space.

Constructed a finite, diffeomorphism-invariant Hamiltonian.

Derived topological Feynman rules for fermion-gravity dynamics.

Abstract

We study the quantum fermions+gravity system, that is, the gravitational counterpart of QED. We start from the standard Einstein-Weyl theory, reformulated in terms of Ashtekar variables; and we construct its non- perturbative quantum theory by extending the loop representation of general relativity. We construct the fermion equivalent to the loop variables. Not surprisingly, fermions can be incorporated in the loop representation simply by including open curves into ''Loop space''. We explicitely construct the diffeomorphism and hamiltonain operators. The first can be fully solved as in pure gravity. The second is constructed by using a background-independent regularization technique. The theory retains the clean geometrical features of the pure quantum gravity. In particular, the hamiltonian constraint admits the same simple geometrical interpretation as its pure gravity counterpart. Quite surprisingly, a simple action codes the full dynamics of the interacting theory. To unravel the dynamics of the theory we study the evolution of the fermion-gravity system in the physical-time defined by an additional coupled (''clock''-) scalar field. We construct the Hamiltonian operator that evolves the system in this physical time. We show that this Hamiltonian is finite, diffeomorphism invariant, and has a simple geometrical action. The theory fermions+gravity evolving in the clock time is finally given by the combinatorial and geometrical action of this Hamiltonian on a set of graphs with a finite number of end points. This action defines the "topological Feynman rules" of the theory.