Closing the Loop: from EPRL-FK spinfoams to Regge dynamics
Abstract
We study the semiclassical limit of the EPRL-FK model on a fixed simplicial complex. We ask what additional condition is needed for its variational principle to reproduce the equations of motion of Regge calculus, the standard discretization of General Relativity. This limit differs and complements the definition of the semiclassical regime in which, for suitable boundary states and a sufficiently refined simplicial complex, spinfoam amplitudes approximate gravitational transition amplitudes to a prescribed accuracy. We recast the EPRL-FK model in wedge-holonomy variables and identify geometric closure as the missing condition. We prove that imposing geometric closure as an additional constraint alongside local flatness allows us to reconstruct curved geometries. On a regular, nondegenerate Lorentzian branch with spacelike tetrahedra, these constraints define a surface equivalent to the space of length-Regge geometries, modulo gauge. The wedge action restricted to this surface becomes the Regge action, and variations tangent to this surface yield the length-Regge equations. We propose a way to implement geometric closure directly in the spinfoam amplitude. With this additional constraint, the EPRL-FK model is equivalent to Regge calculus in its semiclassical regime on a fixed simplicial complex.
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BibTeX
@misc{bruno2026closing,
title = {{Closing the Loop: from EPRL-FK spinfoams to Regge dynamics}},
author = {Matteo Bruno and Pietro Donà and Gowrisankar Sreeram},
howpublished = {HAL},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.37179},
eprint = {2609.37179},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05784538v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Closing the Loop: from EPRL-FK spinfoams to Regge dynamics
AU - Matteo Bruno
AU - Pietro Donà
AU - Gowrisankar Sreeram
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
PB - HAL
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.37179
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05784538v1
AB - We study the semiclassical limit of the EPRL-FK model on a fixed simplicial complex. We ask what additional condition is needed for its variational principle to reproduce the equations of motion of Regge calculus, the standard discretization of General Relativity. This limit differs and complements the definition of the semiclassical regime in which, for suitable boundary states and a sufficiently refined simplicial complex, spinfoam amplitudes approximate gravitational transition amplitudes to a prescribed accuracy. We recast the EPRL-FK model in wedge-holonomy variables and identify geometric closure as the missing condition. We prove that imposing geometric closure as an additional constraint alongside local flatness allows us to reconstruct curved geometries. On a regular, nondegenerate Lorentzian branch with spacelike tetrahedra, these constraints define a surface equivalent to the space of length-Regge geometries, modulo gauge. The wedge action restricted to this surface becomes the Regge action, and variations tangent to this surface yield the length-Regge equations. We propose a way to implement geometric closure directly in the spinfoam amplitude. With this additional constraint, the EPRL-FK model is equivalent to Regge calculus in its semiclassical regime on a fixed simplicial complex.
ER -