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The Hamiltonian constraint is the key element of the canonical formulation of loop quantum gravity (LQG) coding its dynamics. In Ashtekar-Barbero variables it naturally splits into the so-called Euclidean and Lorentzian parts. However, due to the high complexity of this operator, only the matrix elements of the Euclidean part have been considered so far. Here we evaluate the action of the full constraint, including the Lorentzian part. The computation requires heavy use of SU(2) recoupling theory and several tricky identities among n-j symbols are used to find the final result: these identities, together with the graphical calculus used to derive them, also simplify the Euclidean constraint and are of general interest in LQG computations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The closed, spatially isotropic Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker universe (k=+1) is endowed with modifications due to a discrete underlying space-structure. Motivated from loop quantum gravity techniques, a full Thiemann regularization is performed. The impact of these modifications of the single-graph-sector appearing in the scalar constraint are interpreted as physical quantum gravity effects. We investigate the form of the modified scalar constraint and its analytical approximations for k=+1 spacetimes and assume this effective constraint as the generator of dynamics on the reduced isotropic phase space. It transpires that the system still features a classical recollapse with only marginal discreteness corrections. Moreover, the initial and final singularities are resolved and we present an effective model mirroring the qualitative features of system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The way physics of loop quantum gravity is affected by the underlying quantization ambiguities is an open question. We address this issue in the context of loop quantum cosmology using gauge-covariant fluxes. Consequences are explored for two choices of regularization parameters: μ0 and μ̄ in the presence of a positive cosmological constant, and two choices of regularizations of the Hamiltonian constraint in loop quantum cosmology: the standard and the Thiemann regularization. We show that novel features of singularity resolution and bounce, occurring due to gauge-covariant fluxes, exist also for Thiemann-regularized dynamics. The μ0 scheme is found to be unviable as in standard loop quantum cosmology when a positive cosmological constant is included. Our investigation brings out a surprising result that the nature of emergent matter in the prebounce regime is determined by the choice of regulator in the Thiemann regularization of the scalar constraint whether or not one uses gauge-covaraint fluxes. Unlike the μ̄ scheme where the emergent matter is a cosmological constant, the emergent matter in the μ0 scheme behaves as a string gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loop quantum cosmology is a symmetry reduced quantization of cosmological spacetimes based on loop quantum gravity. While it has been successful in resolution of various cosmological singularities and connecting Planck scale physics to phenomenology, its connection with loop quantum gravity has remained elusive. It is therefore important to integrate more and more features of the full theory into this framework and understand the reliability of physical predictions. In particular, if one wishes to connect the effective Hamiltonian in loop quantum cosmology to an expectation value of the scalar constraint operator in suitable coherent states for the full theory, one has to go beyond the standard setting of loop quantum cosmology. One possibility is to introduce gauge-covariant fluxes, which become necessary because the presence of a finite regularization parameter causes functions built out of the standard discretized variables to be in general not gauge invariant. Following the construction of gauge-covariant fluxes pioneered by Thiemann [Quantum spin dynamics (QSD): VII. Symplectic structures and continuum lattice formulations of gauge field theories, Classical Quantum Gravity 18, 3293 (2001)], we show that the physics of loop quantum cosmology is affected in a nontrivial way. The bounce turns out to be generically asymmetric with a rescaling of Newton's constant in the prebounce branch. Gauge-covariant fluxes result in a higher order quantum difference equation in comparison to loop quantum cosmology. Even the behavior of matter, which behaves innocuously in loop quantum cosmology, is enriched resulting in an effective nonminimal coupling. These effects are shown to be common to different choices of regularization parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We reexamine a set of existing procedures aimed at recovering the effective description of the dynamics of loop quantum gravity in the context of cosmological solutions. In particular, the studies of those methods, to which the choice of cuboidal graphs and graph-preserving Hamiltonian is central, result in the formulation of a set of no-go statements, severely limiting the possibility of recovering a physically consistent effective dynamics this way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the loop quantum gravity context, there have been numerous proposals to quantize the reduced phase space of a black hole and develop a classical effective description for its interior which eventually resolves the singularity. However, little progress has been made toward understanding the relation between such quantum/effective minisuperspace models and what would be the spherically symmetric sector of loop quantum gravity. In particular, it is not clear whether one can extract the phenomenological predictions obtained in minisuperspace models, such as the singularity resolution and the spacetime continuation beyond the singularity, based on results in full loop quantum gravity. In this paper, we present an attempt in this direction in the context of Kantowski-Sachs spacetime, through the proposal of two new effective Hamiltonians for the reduced classical model. The first is derived using Thiemann classical identities for the regularized expressions, while the second is obtained as a first approximation of the expectation value of a Hamiltonian operator in loop quantum gravity in a semiclassical state peaked on the Kantowski-Sachs initial data. We then proceed with a detailed analysis of the dynamics they generate and compare them with the Hamiltonian derived in general relativity and the common effective Hamiltonian proposed in earlier literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]