Related papers: Einstein on Involutions in Projective Geometry
The classical world structures borne by spacetimes endowed with torsionful affinities are reviewed. Subsequently, the definition and symmetry properties of a typical pair of Witten curvature spinors for such spacetimes are exhibited along…
This is an introduction (in German) to projective geometry by the late Heinz Lueneburg. Projective spaces are treated as lattices with particular properties, and finite geometries receive special attention. The final chapters deal with…
We study the volume of compact Riemannian manifolds which are Einstein with respect to a metric connection with (parallel) skew-torsion. We provide a result for the sign of the first variation of the volume in terms of the corresponding…
This is a prelude to a book which I intend to publish. This paper describes my temporary thoughts on Einstein's pathway to the special theory of relativity. See my papers on my thoughts on Einstein's pathway to his general theory of…
We study Einstein metrics on smooth compact 4-manifolds with an edge-cone singularity of specified cone angle along an embedded 2-manifold. To do so, we first derive modified versions of the Gauss-Bonnet and signature theorems for arbitrary…
Art history linked some early 20th Century avant-garde visual art movements to contemporary systems of ideas in mathematics and theoretical physics. One of the proposed connections is the one that might have existed between Cubism and…
I reconsider Einstein's 1912 "Prague-Theory" of static gravity based on a scalar field obeying a non-linear field equation. I point out that this equation follows from the self-consistent implementation of the principle that all energies…
The Einstein postulates assert an invariance of the propagation speed of light in vacuum for any observer, and which amounts to a presumed absence of any preferred frame. The postulates appear to be directly linked to relativistic effects…
This is a guided tour through some selected topics in geometric analysis. We have chosen to illustrate many of the basic ideas as they apply to the theory of minimal surfaces. This is, in part, because minimal surfaces is, if not the…
It is a little known fact that while he was developing his theory of general relativity, Einstein's initial idea was a variable speed of light theory. Indeed space-time curvature can be mimicked by a speed of light $c(r)$ that depends on…
On November 18, 1915 Einstein reported to the Prussian Academy that the perihelion motion of Mercury is explained by his new General Theory of Relativity: Einstein found approximate solutions to his November 11, 1915 field equations.…
Influence network of events is a view of the universe based on events that may be related to one another via influence. The network of events form a partially-ordered set which, when quantified consistently via a technique called chain…
A century after its formulation by Einstein, it is time to incorporate special relativity early in the physics curriculum. The approach advocated here employs a simple algebraic extension of vector formalism that generates Minkowski…
We consider the ring of invariants of n points on the projective line. The space (P^1)^n // PGL_2 is perhaps the first nontrivial example of a Geometry Invariant Theory quotient. The construction depends on the weighting of the n points.…
A century ago, Einstein formulated his elegant and elaborate theory of General Relativity, which has so far withstood a multitude of empirical tests with remarkable success. Notwithstanding the triumphs of Einstein's theory, the tenacious…
We continue recent work and formulate the gravitational vacuum Einstein equations over a locally finite spacetime by using the basic axiomatics, techniques, ideas and working philosophy of Abstract Differential Geometry. The whole…
In hyperbolic space, the angle of intersection and distance classify pairs of totally geodesic hyperplanes. A similar algebraic invariant classifies pairs of hyperplanes in the Einstein universe. In dimension 3, symplectic splittings of a…
This paper is a commentary and a reading guide to three papers by Herbert Busemann, \"Uber die Geometrien, in denen die "Kreise mit unendlichem Radius" die k\"urzesten Linien sind." (On the geometries where circles of infinite radius are…
We develop a notion of Einstein manifolds with skew torsion on compact, orientable Riemannian manifolds of dimension four. We prove an analogue of the Hitchin-Thorpe inequality and study the case of equality. We use the link with…
This article investigates a new gauge theoretic approach to Einstein's equations in dimension 4. Whilst aspects of the formalism are already explained in various places in the mathematics and physics literature, our first goal is to give a…