Directions in Causal Set Quantum Gravity
Abstract
In the causal set approach to quantum gravity the spacetime continuum arises as an approximation to a fundamentally discrete substructure, the causal set, which is a locally finite partially ordered set. The causal set paradigm was elucidated in a classic paper by Bombelli, Lee, Meyer and Sorkin in 1987. While early kinematical results already showed promise, the program received a substantial impetus about a decade ago with the work of Rideout and Sorkin on a classical stochastic growth dynamics for causal sets. Considerable progress has been made ever since in our understanding of causal set theory while leaving undisturbed the basic paradigm. Recent highlights include a causal set expression for the Einstein-Hilbert action and the construction of a scalar field Feynman propagator on a fixed causal set. The aim of the present article is to give a broad overview of the results in causal set theory while pointing out directions for future investigations.
- Publication:
-
arXiv e-prints
- Pub Date:
- March 2011
- DOI:
- 10.48550/arXiv.1103.6272
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1103.6272
- Bibcode:
- 2011arXiv1103.6272S
- Keywords:
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- General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
- E-Print:
- 31 pages, 7 figures, To appear in Recent Research in Quantum Gravity, edited by A. Dasgupta (Nova Science Publishers NY)