John Baez
May 24, 2001
New Developments in Canonical Quantum Gravity
The first two decades of work in loop quantum gravity were mainly
devoted to kinematical issues, the most interesting results being the
proof that spin networks form a basis of kinematical states and the
determination of a discrete spectrum of eigenvalues for geometrical
observables such as area and volume. Now this approach is beginning to
serve as a framework for tackling questions of long-standing interest in
quantum gravity. Here we concentrate on two: the statistical mechanics
of black hole entropy and the issue of singularities in quantum
cosmology. The second is particularly exciting because it gives a
concrete way to test ideas on dynamics in loop quantum gravity.
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