Dirac gauge theory for topological spinors in 3+1 dimensional networks

Abstract

Abstract Gauge theories on graphs and networks are attracting increasing attention not only as approaches to quantum gravity but also as models for performing quantum computation. Here we propose a Dirac gauge theory for topological spinors in 3 + 1 dimensional networks associated to an arbitrary metric. Topological spinors are the direct sum of 0-cochains and 1-cochains defined on a network and describe a matter field defined on both nodes and links of a network. Recently in Bianconi (2021 J. Phys. Complex. 2 035022) it has been shown that topological spinors obey the topological Dirac equation driven by the discrete Dirac operator. In this work we extend these results by formulating the Dirac equation on weighted and directed 3 + 1 dimensional networks which allow for the treatment of a local theory. The commutators and anti-commutators of the Dirac operators are non vanishing an they define the curvature tensor and magnetic field of our theory respectively. This interpretation is confirmed by the non-relativistic limit of the proposed Dirac equation. In the non-relativistic limit of the proposed Dirac equation the sector of the spinor defined on links follows the Schrödinger equation with the correct giromagnetic moment, while the sector of the spinor defined on nodes follows the Klein–Gordon equation and is not negligible. The action associated to the proposed field theory comprises of a Dirac action and a metric action. We describe the gauge invariance of the action under both Abelian and non-Abelian transformations and we propose the equation of motion of the field theory of both Dirac and metric fields. This theory can be interpreted as a limiting case of a more general gauge theory valid on any arbitrary network in the limit of almost flat spaces.