A note on cutting spin networks and the area spectrum in loop quantum gravity

Abstract

In this paper, I show that if a spin network is cut by a surface separating space-time into two regions, the sum of spins of edges crossing the surface must be an integer. This gives a restriction on the area spectrum of such surfaces, including black hole horizons, in loop quantum gravity.

7 pages with 2 figures; v2: added references; v3: added discussion of a sufficient condition, generalization, some clearer explanations, and more references

References in corpus (2)

• Black hole state counting in Loop Quantum Gravity: A number theoretical approach
• Detailed black hole state counting in loop quantum gravity