Loop Quantum Gravity for the Bewildered (eBook)

This second edition offers a comprehensive introduction to loop quantum gravity (LQG) in self-dual variables, including the necessary prerequisites. Additionally, it delves into various significant research areas that have emerged in recent years. New content (including an entirely new chapter dedicated to dynamics of quantum spacetime) explores the description of spin networks and  spin-foams, their historical development as well as connections to tensor networks, BF theory, and emerging approaches including the spinorial representation of LQG, SU(2) coherent states, and group field theory. Furthermore, the book provides expanded appendices covering essential tools and concepts, such as the connection between information theory and entropy, and overviews of group theory and differential geometry. All topics are presented from a non-expert perspective, ensuring self-containment and accessibility. The primary aim of this second edition remains helping researchers, bewildered by the vast array of topics within this rapidly growing field of quantum gravity, to gain a fundamental understanding of the current developments.

Sundance Bilson-Thompson obtained his Ph.D. in lattice gauge theory from the University of Adelaide, Australia. He has held postdoctoral positions at Seoul National University, South Korea, and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Canada. Throughout his career, he transitioned to working on physics beyond the standard model and loop quantum gravity. In between his postdoctoral positions, he has travelled across the USA by bicycle.  More recently, he returned to the University of Adelaide where he has been a recipient of the Ramsay Postdoctoral Fellowship. He has also stood as a candidate for the Australian Senate, worked as a physics consultant for a theater production exploring the search for the top quark, held a research fellowship with RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, and currently serves as a visiting research associate and lecturer in the School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences at the University of Adelaide.