Piecewise Flat Metrics and Quantum Gravity

Abstract

We introduce a physical piecewise linear metric associated to a Regge triangulation of a smooth 4-manifold. We describe the basic properties of the corresponding geometry in the cases of the Euclidean and the Minkowski signature. In the Minkowski case, we describe the Regge action and how to define the corresponding path integral for the casual triangulations. We also discus the Regge path integral for a triangulation associated to the Friedman-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker cosmological model and briefly study the corresponding wavefunctions, namely the Hartle-Hawking and the Vilenkin wavefunction.