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A set of new exact analytical General Relativity (GR) solutions with time-dependent and spatially inhomogeneous quintessence demonstrate 1) a static non-empty space-time with a horizon-type singular surface; 2) time-dependent spatially…
We consider plane-symmetric spacetimes satisfying Einstein's field equations with positive cosmological constant, when the matter is a fluid whose pressure is equal to its mass-energy density (i.e. a so-called stiff fluid). We study the…
A new class of solutions of the Einstein field equations in spherical symmetry is found. The new solutions are mathematically described as the metrics admitting separation of variables in area-radius coordinates. Physically, they describe…
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…
The global geometry of the universe is in principle as observable an attribute as local curvature. Previous studies have established that if the universe is wrapped into a flat hypertorus, the simplest compact space, then the fundamental…
The formulation of General Relativity in which the 4-dimensional space-time is embedded in a flat host space of higher dimension is reconsidered. New classes of embeddings (modeled after Nash's classical free embeddings) are introduced.…
Our understanding of the four basic concepts of Physics -- space, time, matter and force -- has undergone radical change in the course of work on unification, starting with Maxwell's unification of electricity with magnetism, all the way to…
There is a well-known short list of asymptotic conserved quantities for a physical system at spatial infinity. We search for new ones.This is carried outwithin the asymptotic framework of Ashtekar and Romano, in which spatial infinity is…
Is the universe digital or analog? In this essay I argue that both classical and quantum physics include limits that prevent us from definitively answering that question. That quantum physics does so is no surprise. That classical physics…
The principles of quantum field theory in flat spacetime suggest that gravity is mediated by a massless particle with helicity $\pm2$, the so-called graviton. It is regarded as textbook knowledge that, when the self-coupling of a particle…
Matter collapsing to a singularity in a gravitational field is still an intriguing question. Similar situation arises when discussing the very early universe or a universe recollapsing to a singularity. It is suggested that inclusion of…
Many physicists, following Einstein, believe that the ultimate aim of theoretical physics is to find a unified theory of all interactions which would not depend on any free dimensionless constant, i.e., a dimensionless constant that is only…
Plutarchus, circa 100 AD, in his early book on "astrophysics" --in which he exposed, in a sense, a general theory of gravitation-- wrote the noticeable passage: <<The Moon gets the guarantee of not falling down just from its motion and from…
In this talk r-form fields in spacetimes of any dimension D are considered (r<D). The weak-field Newtonian-type limit of Einstein's equations, in general, with relativistic sources is studied in the static case yielding a revision of the…
The equations of motion describing all physical systems, except gravity, remain invariant if a constant is added to the Lagrangian. In the conventional approach, gravitational theories break this symmetry exhibited by all other physical…
We introduce a physical characterization of the static and stationary perfect fluid solutions of the Einstein field equations with a single or 2-component perfect fluid sources, according to their gravitoelectric and gravitomagnetic fields.…
The meaning of the expansion of the universe, or the `expansion of space,' is explored using two phenomena: the motion of a test particle against a homogeneous background and the cosmological redshift. Contrary to some expectations, a…
The vacuum is the lowest energy state of a field in a certain region of space. This definition implies that no particles can be present in the vacuum state. In classical physics, the only features of vacuum are those of its geometry. For…
A variational principle is applied to 4D Euclidean space provided with a tensor refractive index, defining what can be seen as 4-dimensional optics (4DO). The geometry of such space is analysed, making no physical assumptions of any kind.…
The initial singularity problem in standard general relativity is treated on the light of a viewpoint asserting that this formulation of Einstein's theory and its conformal formulations are physically equivalent. We show that flat…