Related papers: Special relativity (in Russian)
Einstein's special theory of relativity starts with assumptions about how observations conducted in relatively moving inertial frames must compare. From these assumptions, conclusions can be drawn regarding the laws of physics in any one…
We build a self-consistent relativistic scalar theory of gravitation on a flat Minkowski spacetime from a general field Lagrangian. It is shown that, for parameters that satisfy the Equivalence Principle, this theory predicts the same…
The properties of the light, the Lorentz transformations and the relation mass-energy are introduced using the wave picture of the light and of the massive particles.
This paper, which is meant to be a tribute to Minkowski's geometrical insight, rests on the idea that the basic observed symmetries of spacetime homogeneity and of isotropy of space, which are displayed by the spacetime manifold in the…
These are lectures on General Theory of Relativity that were given to students of the Mathematical Faculty of the Higher School of Economics in Moscow.
Motivation and perspective for an exciting new research direction interconnecting logic, spacetime theory, relativity--including such revolutionary areas as black hole physics, relativistic computers, new cosmology--are presented in this…
Whoever has to learn or to teach thermodynamics is confronted with conceptual difficulties which are specific to this field of physics ([1],[2]). It seems that they can be eliminated by inserting relativity in the thermodynamic theory. The…
General relativity provides an appropriate framework for addressing the issue of sub- or superluminality as an apparent effect. Even though a massless particle travels on the light cone, its average velocity over a finite path measured by…
We show that the Schwarzschild solution can be embedded in a class of nonstandard solutions of the vacuum Einstein's equations with arbitrary rotation curves. These nonstandard solutions have to be taken as physical if dark matter as needed…
The gravitational field with spin-2 is introduced naturally by the requirement that the Lagrangian is locally translation invariant in Minkowski spacetime. The interactions between the gravitational field and spin-1/2, 0, 1 matter fields…
Geometry is essentially a global language, which is fully understood in different times, countries and cultures. The proof of a geometric theorem (e.g. the Pythagorean Theorem) or a geometric construction (e.g. the construction of an…
This brief review is intended to introduce gravitational physicists to recent developments in which general relativity is being used to describe certain aspects of condensed matter systems, e.g., superconductivity.
Arguments are reviewed and extended in favor of presenting special relativity at least in part from a more mechanistic point of view. A number of generic mechanisms are catalogued and illustrated with the goal of making relativistic effects…
This paper constitutes a background to the paper 'Quantum mechanics as "space-time statistical mechanics"?', arXiv:quant-ph/0501133, presented previously by the author. But it is also a free-standing and self-contained paper. The purpose of…
The mathematical treatment and graphical representation of Special Relativity (SR) are well established, yet carry deep implications that remain hard to visualize. This paper presents a new graphical interpretation of the geometry of SR…
In Minkowski spacetime, we consider an isolated system made of two pointlike bodies interacting at a distance, in the nonradiative approximation. Our framework is the covariant and a priori Hamiltonian formalism of "predictive relativistic…
The most general form of transformations of spacetime coordinates in Special Theory of Relativity based solely on physical assumptions are described. Only the linearity of spacetime transformations and the constancy of the speed of light…
We present visual calculations in special relativity using spacetime diagrams drawn on graph paper that has been rotated by 45 degrees. The rotated lines represent lightlike directions in Minkowski spacetime, and the boxes in the grid…
An extension of the theory of General Relativity is proposed, based on pseudo-complex space-time coordinates. The new theory corresponds to the introduction of two, in general different, metrics which are connected through specific…
We present an elementary system of axioms for the geometry of Minkowski spacetime. It strikes a balance between a simple and streamlined set of axioms and the attempt to give a direct formalization in first-order logic of the standard…