title: Numerical Evidence for a Phase Transition in 4D Spin-Foam Quantum Gravity.
abstract: Building on recent advances in defining Wilsonian renormalization group (RG) flows, and the notion of scales in particular, for background-independent theories, we present a first investigation of the renormalization of the 4D spin-foam path integral for quantum gravity, both analytically and numerically. Focusing on a specific truncation of the model using a hypercubic lattice, we compute the RG flow and find strong indications for a phase transition, as well as an interesting interplay between the different observed phases and the (broken) diffeomorphism symmetry of the model. Most notably, it appears that the critical point between the phases, which is a fixed point of the RG flow, is precisely where broken diffeomorphism symmetry is restored, which suggests that it might allow us to define a continuum limit of the quantum gravity theory.
authors.affiliation: II. Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bahr
authors.affiliation: II. Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Steinhaus