Fields and Laplacians on Quantum Geometries

Abstract

In fundamentally discrete approaches to quantum gravity such as loop quantum gravity, spin-foam models, group field theories or Regge calculus observables are functions on discrete geometries. We present a bra-ket formalism of function spaces and discrete calculus on abstract simplicial complexes equipped with geometry and apply it to the mentioned theories of quantum gravity. In particular we focus on the quantum geometric Laplacian and discuss as an example the expectation value of the heat kernel trace from which the spectral dimension follows.