Vertex amplitudes in spin foam loop quantum cosmology

We discuss properties of the vertex expansion for homogeneous, isotropic loop quantum cosmological models sourced by a massless, minimally coupled scalar field, which in this model plays the role of an internal matter ``clock''. We show that the vertex expansion, first written down by Ashtekar, Campiglia and Henderson, must be thought of as a short-time expansion in the sense that the amplitude for volume transitions is constrained both by the order of the expansion and by the elapsed scalar field. To calculate the amplitude for significant volume changes or between large differences in the value of the scalar field requires the expansion be evaluated to very high order.