Related papers: The Null distance encodes causality
Given a time function $\tau$ on a spacetime $M$, we define a `null distance function', $\hat{d}_\tau$, built from and closely related to the causal structure of $M$. In basic models with timelike $\nabla \tau$, we show that 1)…
The notion of null distance was introduced by Sormani and Vega as part of a broader program to develop a theory of metric convergence adapted to Lorentzian geometry. Given a time function $\tau$ on a spacetime $(M,g)$, the associated null…
Under natural conditions, the null distance introduced by Sormani and Vega [10] is a metric space distance function on spacetime, which, in a certain precise sense, can encode the causality of spacetime. The null distance function requires…
The null distance of Sormani and Vega encodes the manifold topology as well as the causality structure of a (smooth) spacetime. We extend this concept to Lorentzian length spaces, the analog of (metric) length spaces, which generalize…
In this paper, we prove that Temple's cylindrical future null coordinate charts can be constructed uniformly and we estimate the gradients of their optical functions. We then apply these charts to study a spacetime $(N,g)$ that has been…
The null distance for Lorentzian manifolds was recently introduced by Sormani and Vega. Under mild assumptions on the time function of the spacetime, the null distance gives rise to an intrinsic, conformally invariant metric that induces…
We introduce conformal transformations in the synthetic setting of metric spaces and Lorentzian (pre-)length spaces. Our main focus lies on the Lorentzian case, where, motivated by the need to extend classical notions to spaces of low…
Let $(M,g)$ be a time oriented Lorentzian manifold and $d$ the Lorentzian distance on $M$. The function $\tau(q):=\sup_{p< q} d(p,q)$ is the cosmological time function of $M$, where as usual $p< q$ means that $p$ is in the causal past of…
No Hopf-Rinow Theorem is possible in Lorentzian Geometry. Nonetheless, we prove that a spacetime is globally hyperbolic if and only if it is metrically complete with respect to the null distance of a time function. Our approach is based on…
We introduce the notion of causally-null-compactifiable space-times which can be canonically converted into a compact timed-metric-spaces using the cosmological time of Andersson-Howard-Galloway and the null distance of Sormani-Vega. We…
In metric geometry, the question of whether a distance metric is given by the length of curves can be decided via the existence of midpoints with respect to the metric $d$. We adapt a similar characterization to the setting of Lorentzian…
What is the distance between two points in spacetime? This is a basic geometric question, which so far has no single, definitive answer. Unlike their Riemannian cousins, Lorentzian manifolds are not known to carry a canonical distance…
It is shown that the warped product spacetime P=M *_f H, where H is a complete Riemannian manifold, and the original spacetime M share necessarily the same causality properties, the only exceptions being the properties of causal continuity…
What is the analogous notion of Gromov-Hausdorff convergence for sequences of spacetimes? Since a Lorentzian manifold is not inherently a metric space, one cannot simply use the traditional definition. One approach offered by Sormani and…
We prove a limit curve theorem for incomplete metric spaces. Our main application is to Sormani and Vegas' null distance, where our results give strong control on the Lorentzian lengths of limit curves. We also show that regular…
We present a concise new definition of Finsler spacetimes that generalize Lorentzian metric manifolds and provide consistent backgrounds for physics. Extending standard mathematical constructions known from Finsler spaces we show that…
How should one define metric space notions of convergence for sequences of spacetimes? Since a Lorentzian manifold does not define a metric space directly, the uniform convergence, Gromov-Hausdorff (GH) convergence, and Sormani-Wenger…
The properties of the stable distance over stable spacetimes are used as a reference to propose a simplified, abstract notion of spacetime. The discussion shows that spacetime, with its topology, causal order and (upper semi-continuous)…
We consider Lorentzian manifolds as examples of partially ordered measure spaces, sets endowed with compatible partial order relations and measures, in this case given by the causal structure and the volume element defined by each…
We introduce the notion of timed-Gromov--Hausdorff distance for timed-metric spaces. We prove that this distance is bi-Lipschitz equivalent to the intrinsic timed-Hausdorff distance of Sakovich--Sormani, and therefore induces the same…