[2109.00986] Causal structure in spin-foams Skip to main content Search Submit Donate Log in Search arXiv Press Enter to search · Advanced search General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology arXiv:2109.00986 (gr-qc) [Submitted on 2 Sep 2021 ( v1 ), last revised 24 Apr 2026 (this version, v2)] Title: Causal structure in spin-foams Authors: Eugenio Bianchi , Pierre Martin-Dussaud View a PDF of the paper titled Causal structure in spin-foams, by Eugenio Bianchi and Pierre Martin-Dussaud View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract: The metric field of general relativity is almost fully determined by its causal structure. Yet, in spin-foam models for quantum gravity, the role played by the causal structure is still largely unexplored. The goal of this paper is to clarify how causality is encoded in such models. The quest unveils the physical meaning of the orientation of the two-complex and its role as a dynamical variable. We propose a causal version of the EPRL spin-foam model and discuss the role of the causal structure in the reconstruction of a semiclassical spacetime geometry. Comments: 28 pages Subjects: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc) ; Mathematical Physics (math-ph); Quantum Physics (quant-ph) Cite as: arXiv:2109.00986 [gr-qc] (or arXiv:2109.00986v2 [gr-qc] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2109.00986 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite Journal reference: Universe 10 (2024) 4, 181 Related DOI : https://doi.org/10.3390/universe10040181 Focus to learn more DOI(s) linking to related resources Submission history From: Eugenio Bianchi [ view email ] [v1] Thu, 2 Sep 2021 14:37:42 UTC (394 KB) [v2] Fri, 24 Apr 2026 22:12:06 UTC (397 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled Causal structure in spin-foams, by Eugenio Bianchi and Pierre Martin-Dussaud View PDF HTML (experimental) TeX Source view license Current browse context: gr-qc < prev | next > new | recent | 2021-09 Change to browse by: math math-ph math.MP quant-ph References & Citations INSPIRE HEP NASA ADS Google Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Loading... BibTeX formatted citation × loading... Data provided by: Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer ( What is the Explorer? ) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers ( What is Connected Papers? ) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps ( What is Litmaps? ) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations ( What are Smart Citations? ) Code, Data, Media Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article alphaXiv Toggle alphaXiv ( What is alphaXiv? ) Links to Code Toggle CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers ( What is CatalyzeX? ) DagsHub Toggle DagsHub ( What is DagsHub? ) GotitPub Toggle Gotit.pub ( What is GotitPub? ) Huggingface Toggle Hugging Face ( What is Huggingface? ) ScienceCast Toggle ScienceCast ( What is ScienceCast? ) Demos Demos Replicate Toggle Replicate ( What is Replicate? ) Spaces Toggle Hugging Face Spaces ( What is Spaces? ) Spaces Toggle TXYZ.AI ( What is TXYZ.AI? ) Related Papers Recommenders and Search Tools Link to Influence Flower Influence Flower ( What are Influence Flowers? ) Core recommender toggle CORE Recommender ( What is CORE? ) IArxiv recommender toggle IArxiv Recommender ( What is IArxiv? ) Author Venue Institution Topic About arXivLabs arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs . Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax ( What is MathJax? ) We gratefully acknowledge support from our major funders , member institutions , , and all contributors. About · Help · Contact · Subscribe · Copyright · Privacy · Accessibility · Operational Status (opens in new tab) Major funding support from