Loop Quantum Gravity for the Bewildered: The Self-Dual Approach Revisited

這本第二版提供了對自對偶變量下的循環量子重力（LQG）的全面介紹，包括必要的先備知識。此外，它深入探討了近年來出現的各種重要研究領域。新內容（包括一個完全新的章節專門探討量子時空動力學）探討了自旋網絡和自旋泡沫的描述，它們的歷史發展以及與張量網絡、BF理論和新興方法（包括LQG的自旋表示、SU(2)相干態和群場理論）的聯繫。此外，本書還提供了擴展的附錄，涵蓋了必要的工具和概念，例如信息理論和熵之間的關係，以及群論和微分幾何的概述。所有主題都以非專家的角度呈現，確保自包含性和易讀性。本書第二版的主要目標仍然是幫助研究人員在這個快速發展的量子重力領域中，對當前發展有基本的理解。

Sundance Bilson-Thompson obtained his Ph.D. in lattice gauge theory from the University of Adelaide, Australia. He has held postdoctoral positions at Seoul National University, South Korea, and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Canada. Throughout his career, he transitioned to working on physics beyond the standard model and loop quantum gravity. In between his postdoctoral positions, he has travelled across the USA by bicycle. More recently, he returned to the University of Adelaide where he has been a recipient of the Ramsay Postdoctoral Fellowship. He has also stood as a candidate for the Australian Senate, worked as a physics consultant for a theater production exploring the search for the top quark, held a research fellowship with RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, and currently serves as a visiting research associate and lecturer in the School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences at the University of Adelaide.

Sundance Bilson-Thompson在澳洲阿德萊德大學獲得了格點規範理論的博士學位。他曾在韓國首爾國立大學和加拿大理論物理學研究所擔任博士後職位。在他的職業生涯中，他轉向研究超越標準模型和環量子引力的物理學。在兩個博士後職位之間，他曾騎自行車穿越美國。最近，他回到阿德萊德大學，成為拉姆齊博士後獎學金的獲得者。他還曾作為澳大利亞參議院的候選人，擔任一個探索頂夸克尋找的劇場製作的物理顧問，與澳洲墨爾本皇家墨爾本理工大學擁有研究獎學金，目前在阿德萊德大學物理、化學和地球科學學院擔任訪問研究助理和講師。