The structure of spatial slices of three-dimensional causal triangulations

Abstract

We consider causal 3-dimensional triangulations with the topology of $S^2\times [0,1]$ or $D^2\times [0,1]$ where $S^2$ and $D^2$ are the two-dimensional sphere and disc, respectively. These triangulations consist of slices and we show that these slices can be mapped bijectively onto a set of certain coloured two-dimensional cell complexes satisfying simple conditions. The cell complexes arise as the cross section of the individual slices.