The principle of equivalence and projective structure in space-times
Abstract
This paper discusses the extent to which one can determine the space-time metric from a knowledge of a certain subset of the (unparametrised) geodesics of its Levi-Civita connection, that is, from the experimental evidence of the equivalence principle. It is shown that, if the space-time concerned is known to be vacuum, then the Levi-Civita connection is uniquely determined and its associated metric is uniquely determined up to a choice of units of measurement, by the specification of these geodesics. It is further demonstrated that if two space-times share the same unparametrised geodesics and only one is assumed vacuum then their Levi-Civita connections are again equal (and so the other metric is also a vacuum metric) and the first result above is recovered.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.gr-qc/0703104,
title = {The principle of equivalence and projective structure in space-times},
author = {G. S. Hall and D. P. Lonie},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:gr-qc/0703104},
year = {2008}
}
Comments
23 pages, submitted to Classical and Quantum Gravity