Constructing a theory of quantum gravity is still one of the big open problems in fundamental physics. Spin-foam models, as spiritual successors to Loop Quantum Gravity, are an attempt at such a construction that starts directly from einsteinian General Relativity, implementing a manifestly covariant path integral quantisation of that theory.
This talk will serve as a self-contained introduction to the topic of theoretical spin-foam formulations of quantum gravity. Elements of General Relativity and gauge theory are recommended.
Filipe Veloso e Pedro Costa