RG flows of Quantum Einstein Gravity in the linear-geometric approximation

We construct a novel Wetterich-type functional renormalization group equation for gravity which encodes the gravitational degrees of freedom in terms of gauge-invariant fluctuation fields. Applying a linear-geometric approximation the structure of the new flow equation is considerably simpler than the standard Quantum Einstein Gravity construction since only transverse-traceless and trace part of the metric fluctuations propagate in loops. The geometric flow reproduces the phase-diagram of the Einstein-Hilbert truncation including the non-Gaussian fixed point essential for Asymptotic Safety. Extending the analysis to the polynomial f (R)-approximation establishes that this fixed point comes with similar properties as the one found in metric Quantum Einstein Gravity; in particular it possesses three UV-relevant directions and is stable with respect to deformations of the regulator functions by endomorphisms. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.