Barrett-Crane model from a Boulatov-Ooguri field theory over a homogeneous space

Boulatov and Ooguri have generalized the matrix models of 2d quantum gravity to 3d and 4d, in the form of field theories over group manifolds. We show that the Barrett-Crane quantum gravity model arises naturally from a theory of this type, but restricted to the homogeneous space S-3 = SO(4)/SO(3), as a term in its Feynman expansion. From such a perspective, 4d quantum space-time emerges as a Feynman graph, in the manner of the 2d matrix models. This formalism provides a precise meaning to the "sum over triangulations", which is presumably necessary for a physical interpretation of a spin-foam model as a theory of gravity, In addition, this formalism leads us to introduce a natural alternative model, which might have relevance for quantum gravity. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.