Related papers: Nothing but Relativity, Redux
Solving Einstein's equations precisely for strong-field gravitational systems is essential to determining the full physics content of gravitational wave detections. Without these solutions it is not possible to infer precise values for…
We discuss how developments in physics often imply in the need that spacetime acquires an increasingly richer and complex structure. General Relativity was the first theory to show us the way to connect space and time with the physical…
Flat space-time has not heretofore been thought a suitable locus in which to construct model universes because of the presumed necessity of incorporating gravitation in such models and because of the historical lack of a theory of…
One of the major developments of twentieth century physics has been the gradual recognition that a common feature of the known fundamental interactions is their gauge structure. In this article the authors review the early history of gauge…
A natural geometric framework of noncommutative spacetime is symplectic geometry rather than Riemannian geometry. The Darboux theorem in symplectic geometry then admits a novel form of the equivalence principle such that the…
Besides two fundamental postulates, (i) the principle of relativity and (ii) the constancy of the one-way speed of light in all inertial frames of reference, the special theory of relativity uses the assumption about the Euclidean structure…
Spacetime curvature plays the primary role in general relativity but Einstein later considered a theory where torsion was the central quantity. Just as the Einstein-Hilbert action in the Ricci curvature scalar R can be generalized to f(R)…
General Relativity (GR) is a phenomenologically successful theory that rests on firm foundations, but has not been tested on cosmological scales. The advent of dark energy (and possibly even the requirement of cold dark matter), has…
We describe a simple geometrical derivation of the formula for reflection of light from a uniformly moving plane mirror directly from the postulates of special relativity.
Attempts to quantize general relativity encounter an odd problem. The Hamiltonian that normally generates time evolution vanishes in the case of general relativity as a result of diffeomorphism invariance. The theory seems to be saying that…
Besides the defining space-time symmetries (homogeneity and isotropy) of inertial frames, the derivation of Lorentz transformation requires postulating the principle of relativity and the existence of a finite speed limit. In this article,…
I argue that Einstein overlooked an important aspect of the relativity of time in never quite realizing his quest to embody Mach's principle in his theory of gravity. As a step towards that goal, I broaden the Strong Equivalence Principle…
Within an axiomatic framework of kinematics, we prove that the existence of faster than light particles is logically independent of Einstein's special theory of relativity. Consequently, it is consistent with the kinematics of special…
In this paper, we prove a pure mathematical result which has important implications for the history and philosophy of classical physics and the conceptual origins of relativity theory. In formal terms, we show that, up to definitional…
The Lorentz transformation is derived without the postulate of the universal limiting speed, and the general Edwards transformation is obtained by using the principle of permutation invariance (covariance). It is shown that the existences…
Inserting a varying Lambda in Einstein's field equations can be made consistent with the Bianchi identities by allowing for torsion, without the need to add scalar field degrees of freedom. In the minimal such theory, Lambda is totally free…
On incorporating special relativity theory into an extended equivalence principle, post-Newtonian gravitational phenomena beyond that originally predicted by Einstein are predicted (required), such as geodetic and gravitomagnetic…
The confrontation between Einstein's theory of gravitation and experiment is summarized. Although all current experimental data are compatible with general relativity, the importance of pursuing the quest for possible deviations from…
To consider a medium carrying light and electromagnetic waves is impossible, when this medium shall have properties according to the principle of constant speed of light, that is, isotropy of speed of light in every system of reference.…
Traditional approaches to the study of the dynamics of spacetime curvature in a very real sense hide the intricacies of the nonlinear regime. Whether it be huge formulae, or mountains of numerical data, standard methods of presentation make…