The Barrett-Crane model: asymptotic measure factor

Abstract

The original spin foam model construction for 4D gravity by Barrett and Crane suffers from a few troubling issues. In the simple examples of the vertex amplitude they can be summarized as the existence of contributions to the asymptotics from non geometric configurations. Even restricted to geometric contributions the amplitude is not completely worked out. While the phase is known to be the Regge action, the so called measure factor has remained mysterious for a decade. In the toy model case of the 6j symbol this measure factor has a nice geometric interpretation of $V^{-1/2}$ leading to speculations that a similar interpretation should be possible also in the 4D case. In this paper we provide the first geometric interpretation of the geometric part of the asymptotic for the spin foam consisting of two glued 4-simplices (decomposition of the 4-sphere) in the Barrett-Crane model in the large internal spin regime.

12 pages, clarifications and references added, version accepted in Class. Quant. Grav

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• Spinfoams: Foundations
• Coupled intertwiner dynamics: A toy model for coupling matter to spin foam models
• The hessian in spin foam models
• Hessian in the spinfoam models with cosmological constant