We adopt the standard definition of diffeomorphism for Regge gravity in D=2 and give an exact expression of the Liouville action in the discretized case. We also give the exact form of the integration measure for the conformal factor. In D>2 we exten
d the approach to any family of geometries described by a finite number of parameters. The ensuing measure is a geometric invariant and it is also invariant in form under an arbitrary change of parameters.
We present a formulation of Regge Calculus where arbitrary coordinates are associated to each vertex of a simplicial complex and the degrees of freedom are given by the metric on each simplex. The lengths of the edges are thus determined and are left
invariant under arbitrary transformations of the discrete set of coordinates, provided the metric transforms accordingly. Invariance under coordinate transformations entails tensor calculus and our formulation follows closely the usual formalism of the continuum theory. The definitions of parallel transport, Christoffel symbol, covariant derivatives and Riemann curvature tensor follow in a rather natural way. In this correspondence Einstein action becomes Regge action with the deficit angle $theta$ replaced by $sin theta$. The correspondence with the continuum theory can be extended to actions with higher powers of the curvature tensor, to the vielbein formalism and to the coupling of gravity with matter fields (scalars, fermionic fields including spin $3/2$ fields and gauge fields) which are then determined unambiguously and discussed in the paper. An action on the simplicial lattice for $N=1$ supergravity in $4$ dimensions is derived in this context. Another relavant result is that Yang-mills actions on a simplicial lattice consist, even in absence of gravity, of two plaquettes terms, unlike the one plaquette Wilson action on the hypercubic lattice. An attempt is also made to formulate a discrete differential calculus to include differential forms of higher order and the gauging of free differential algebras in this scheme. However this leads to form products that do not satisfy associativity and distributive law with respect to the $d$ operator. A proper formulation of theories that contain higher order differential forms in the context of Regge Calculus is then still lacking.
Understanding the role of higher derivatives is probably one of the most relevant questions in quantum gravity theory. Already at the semiclassical level, when gravity is a classical background for quantum matter fields, the action of gravity should
include fourth derivative terms to provide renormalizability in the vacuum sector. The same situation holds in the quantum theory of metric. At the same time, including the fourth derivative terms means the presence of massive ghosts, which are gauge-independent massive states with negative kinetic energy. At both classical and quantum level such ghosts violate stability and hence the theory becomes inconsistent. Several approaches to solve this contradiction were invented and we are proposing one more, which looks simpler than those what were considered before. We explore the dynamics of the gravitational waves on the background of classical solutions and give certain arguments that massive ghosts produce instability only when they are present as physical particles. At least on the cosmological background one can observe that if the initial frequency of the metric perturbations is much smaller than the mass of the ghost, no instabilities are present.
With the theory of general relativity, Einstein abolished the interpretation of gravitation as a force and associated it to the curvature of spacetime. Tensorial calculus and differential geometry are the mathematical resources necessary to study the
spacetime manifold in the context of Einsteins theory. In 1961, Tullio Regge published a work on which he uses the old idea of triangulation of surfaces aiming the description of curvature, and, therefore, gravitation, through the use of discrete calculus. In this paper, we approach Regge Calculus pedagogically, as well as the main results towards a discretized version of Einsteins theory of gravitation.
We discover a weak-gravity bound in scalar-gravity systems in the asymptotic-safety paradigm. The weak-gravity bound arises in these systems under the approximations we make, when gravitational fluctuations exceed a critical strength. Beyond this cri
tical strength, gravitational fluctuations can generate complex fixed-point values in higher-order scalar interactions. Asymptotic safety can thus only be realized at sufficiently weak gravitational interactions. We find that within truncations of the matter-gravity dynamics, the fixed point lies beyond the critical strength, unless spinning matter, i.e., fermions and vectors, is also included in the model.