Interpreting the isolated horizon boundary condition in terms of higher gauge theory

Abstract

The purpose of this letter is to point out a relation between the boundary condition satisfied by spherically symmetric isolated horizons (formulated in terms of Ashtekar-Barbero variables) and the source-target matching condition (also known as fake flatness condition) in higher gauge theory. This relation may prove useful in the attempt to quantize the isolated horizon boundary condition which is in turn a possible starting point for the search for black hole solutions in the full theory of loop quantum gravity. Also, since a 2-connection is the mathematical object required for describing the parallel transport of 1-dimensional objects, the relation presented in this letter may provide further insight into the coupling of LQG to string-like objects investigated in other contexts.