Speaker
Sebastian Steinhaus
(FSU Jena)
Description
Spin foam models are a non-perturbative, background independent approach to quantum gravity derived from general relativity formulated as a constrained topological field theory. The sum over histories is codified in group theoretic data associated to a triangulation, which can be understood as area and angle variables. Extracting physics from these models requires efficient numerical techniques. In this talk I will give a brief overview of the models and outline the numerical challenges. I will present the progress in recent years in computing its fundamental amplitudes and discuss symmetry-reduced cosmological models as first tests to make contact with (semi-)classical physics.
