A path integral formula of quantum gravity emergent from entangled local structures

We couple to group field theory (GFT) a scalar field that encodes the entanglement between manifold sites. The scalar field provides a relational clock that enables the derivation of the Hamiltonian of the system from the GFT action. Inspecting the Hamiltonian, we show that a theory of emergent gravity arises, and that this can be recast according to the Ashtekar’s formulation of general relativity. The evolution of the GFT observables is regulated by the Shrödinger equation generated by the Hamiltonian. This is achieved by imposing a renormalization group (RG) flow that corresponds to a simplified Ricci flow. As a consequence of the quantization procedure, the Hamiltonian is recovered to be non-Hermitian, and can be related to the complex action formalism, in which the initial conditions and the related future evolution of the systems are dictated by the imaginary part of the action.