Dario Benedetti

Asymptotic safety in higher-derivative gravity

We study the nonperturbative renormalization group flow of higher-derivative gravity employing functional renormalization group techniques. The nonperturbative contributions to the β-functions shift the known perturbative ultraviolet fixed point into a nontrivial fixed point with three UV-attractive and one UV-repulsive eigendirections, consistent with the asymptotic safety conjecture of gravity. The implication of this transition on the unitarity problem, typically haunting higher-derivative gravity theories, is discussed.

Fractal properties of quantum spacetime.

We show that, in general, a spacetime having a quantum group symmetry has also a scale-dependent fractal dimension which deviates from its classical value at short scales, a phenomenon that resembles what is observed in some approaches to quantum gravity. In particular, we analyze the cases of a quantum sphere and of kappa-Minkowski spacetime, the latter being relevant in the context of quantum gravity.

Taming perturbative divergences in asymptotically safe gravity

Abstract We use functional renormalization group methods to study gravity minimally coupled to a free scalar field. This setup provides the prototype of a gravitational theory which is perturbatively non-renormalizable at one-loop level, but may possess a non-trivial renormalization group fixed point controlling its UV behavior. We show that such a fixed point indeed exists within the truncations considered, lending strong support to the conjectured asymptotic safety of the theory. In particular, we demonstrate that the counterterms responsible for its perturbative non-renormalizability have no qualitative effect on this feature.

Spectral geometry as a probe of quantum spacetime

Employing standard results from spectral geometry, we provide strong evidence that in the classical limit the ground state of three-dimensional causal dynamical triangulations is de Sitter spacetime. This result is obtained by measuring the expectation value of the spectral dimension on the ensemble of geometries defined by these models, and comparing its large-scale behavior to that of a sphere (Euclidean de Sitter). From the same measurement we are also able to confirm the phenomenon of dynamical dimensional reduction observed in this and other approaches to quantum gravity - the first time this has been done for three-dimensional causal dynamical triangulations. In this case, the value for the short-scale limit of the spectral dimension that we find is approximately 2. We comment on the relevance of these results for the comparison to asymptotic safety and Horava-Lifshitz gravity, among other approaches to quantum gravity.

(2+1)-dimensional quantum gravity as the continuum limit of Causal Dynamical Triangulations

We perform a non-perturbative sum over geometries in a (2+1)-dimensional quantum gravity model given in terms of Causal Dynamical Triangulations. Inspired by the concept of triangulations of product type introduced previously, we impose an additional notion of order on the discrete, causal geometries. This simplifies the combinatorial problem of counting geometries just enough to enable us to calculate the transfer matrix between boundary states labelled by the area of the spatial universe, as well as the corresponding quantum Hamiltonian of the continuum theory. This is the first time in dimension larger than two that a Hamiltonian has been derived from such a model by mainly analytical means, and opens the way for a better understanding of scaling and renormalization issues.

Four‐derivative Interactions in Asymptotically Safe Gravity

We summarize recent progress in understanding the role of higher‐derivative terms in the asymptotic safety scenario of gravity. Extending previous computations based on the functional renormalization group approach by including a Weyl‐squared term in the ansatz for the effective action, further evidence for the existence of a non‐Gaussian fixed point is found. The fixed point also persists upon including a minimally coupled free scalar field, providing an explicit example of perturbative counterterms being non‐hazardous for asymptotic safety.

Quantum gravity and matter: Counting graphs on causal dynamical triangulations

An outstanding challenge for models of non-perturbative quantum gravity is the consistent formulation and quantitative evaluation of physical phenomena in a regime where geometry and matter are strongly coupled. After developing appropriate technical tools, one is interested in measuring and classifying how the quantum fluctuations of geometry alter the behaviour of matter, compared with that on a fixed background geometry. In the simplified context of two dimensions, we show how a method invented to analyze the critical behaviour of spin systems on flat lattices can be adapted to the fluctuating ensemble of curved spacetimes underlying the causal dynamical triangulations (CDT) approach to quantum gravity. We develop a systematic counting of embedded graphs to evaluate the thermodynamic functions of the gravity-matter models in a high- and low-temperature expansion. For the case of the Ising model, we compute the series expansions for the magnetic susceptibility on CDT lattices and their duals up to orders 6 and 12, and analyze them by ratio method, Dlog Padé and differential approximants. Apart from providing evidence for a simplification of the model’s analytic structure due to the dynamical nature of the geometry, the technique introduced can shed further light on criteria à la Harris and Luck for the influence of random geometry on the critical properties of matter systems.

Imposing causality on a matrix model

We introduce a new matrix model that describes Causal Dynamical Triangulations (CDT) in two dimensions. In order to do so, we introduce a new, simpler definition of 2D CDT and show it to be equivalent to the old one. The model makes use of ideas from dually weighted matrix models, combined with multi-matrix models, and can be studied by the method of character expansion.

Unexpected spin-off from quantum gravity

We propose a novel way of investigating the universal properties of spin systems by coupling them to an ensemble of causal dynamically triangulated lattices, instead of studying them on a fixed regular or random lattice. Somewhat surprisingly, graph-counting methods to extract high- or low-temperature series expansions can be adapted to this case. For the two-dimensional Ising model, we present evidence that this ameliorates the singularity structure of thermodynamic functions in the complex plane, and improves the convergence of the power series.