Document Type
Poster Session
Publication Date
7-2023
Meeting Name
Quantum Gravity 2023 Meeting
Meeting Date
July 10 – 14, 2023
Meeting Location
Nijmegen, Netherlands
Abstract/ Summary
Spatial topology change is generally expected to be prohibited classically, being present only at the quantum scale. However, including topology change into many of the current approaches to quantum gravity (such as Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG) and Causal Dynamical Triangulations (CDT)) has proven difficult for technical reasons. In this work we explore this sector numerically using branched covering spaces (in LQG this corresponds to the utilization of Topspin Networks). To this end, we have implemented a group-theoretic algorithm coming from knot theory to measure the topology of arbitrary spatial sections in a systematic way, and have constructed a statistical ensemble of initial states to demonstrate access to quantities such as the expectation value of the size of the fundamental group. These are the first steps towards the incorporation of topology change into numerical approaches like CDT.