Related papers: Can an observer really catch up with light
Gravitation might make a preferred frame appear, and with it a clear space/time separation--the latter being, a priori, needed by quantum mechanics (QM) in curved space-time. Several models of gravitation with an ether are discussed: they…
We propose a time-varying cosmological constant with a fixed equation of state, which evolves mainly through its interaction with the background during most of the long history of the universe. However, such interaction does not exist in…
We investigate the process of photon absorption by atoms or molecules shortly interacting with a laser beam in the dipole approximation. Assuming that the interaction time $\tau$ is much smaller than the lifetime of the corresponding…
We present a new solution to the cosmological constant (CC) and coincidence problems in which the observed value of the CC, $\Lambda$, is linked to other observable properties of the universe. This is achieved by promoting the CC from a…
We discuss how the finiteness and universality of the speed of light arise in the theoretical framework introduced in [1], and derive generalized coordinate transformations, that allow to investigate physical systems in a non-classical…
We propose a new generalisation of general relativity which incorporates a variation in both the speed of light in vacuum (c) and the gravitational constant (G) and which is both covariant and Lorentz invariant. We solve the generalised…
Is the Universe (a spatial section thereof) finite or infinite? Knowing the global geometry of a Friedmann-Lema\^{\i}tre (FL) universe requires knowing both its curvature and its topology. A flat or hyperbolic (``open'') FL universe is {\em…
Gamma ray bursts can potentially be used as distance indicators, providing the possibility of extending the Hubble diagram to redshifts ~7. Here we follow the analysis of Schaefer (2007), with the aim of distinguishing the timescape…
For Rindler observers accelerating close to the horizon in local patches around a spacetime point, the matter-energy passing through the horizon increases the entropy and heat energy. Jacobson has showed that the Einstein equation can be…
Consider the extreme value of a Bernoulli random walk on the one-dimensional integer lattice, with reflection at 0, over a finite discrete time interval. Only the asymmetric (biased) case is discussed. Asymptotic mean/variance results are…
We consider two non-longitudinal Doppler Effect experiments. The first one involves a stationary source of monochromatic light located at the origin O of the K(XOY) inertial reference frame and an observer R who performs the hyperbolic…
We discuss how inhomogeneities of the universe affect observations of the gravitational lensing; (1) the bending angle, (2) the lensing statistics and (3) the time delay. In order to take account of the inhomogeneities, the Dyer-Roeder…
The main consequences of de Sitter Special Relativity to the Standard Cosmological Model of Physical Cosmology are examined. The cosmological constant Lambda appears, in this theory, as a manifestation of the proper conformal current, which…
The special theory of relativity teaches us that, although distinct inertial frames perceive the same dynamical laws, space and time intervals differ in value. We revisit the problem of time contraction using the paradigmatic model of a…
We show how an observer could measure the non-local holonomy variables that parametrise the flat Lorentzian 3d manifolds arising as spacetimes in (2+1)-gravity. We consider an observer who emits lightrays that return to him at a later time…
In this work we scrutinize the deterministic nature of globally hyperbolic space-times from the point of view of an observer. We show that a space-time point $q \in M$ that lies to the future of an observer at $p \in M$, receives signals…
Robertson-Walker spacetimes within a large class are geometrically extended to larger cosmologies that include spacetime points with zero and negative cosmological times. In the extended cosmologies, the big bang is lightlike, and though…
New techniques to evaluate the clock effect using light are described. These are based on the flatness of the cylindrical surface containing the world lines of the rays constrained to move on circular trajectories about a spinning mass. The…
It is widely thought that the quantum theory of de Sitter space requires the existence of a physical observer in the static patch. What exactly is meant by an observer is unclear; it could be anything from a few photons with energy just…
Matter interacting classically with gravity in 3+1 dimensions usually gives rise to a continuum of degrees of freedom, so that, in any attempt to quantize the theory, ultraviolet divergences are nearly inevitable. Here, we investigate…