Related papers: A Note on the Topology of Space-time in Special Re…
The problem of topology change description in gravitation theory is analized in detailes. It is pointed out that in standard four-dimensional theories the topology of space may be considered as a particular case of boundary conditions (or…
The four dimensional spacetime continuum, as first conceived by Minkowski, has become the dominant framework within which to describe physical laws. In this paper, we show how this four-dimensional structure is a natural property of…
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…
Special relativity is most naturally formulated as a theory of space-time geometry, but within the space-time framework probability apears to be at best an epistemic notion - a matter of what can be known, not of the status of events in…
With special relativity, we seem to be facing a conundrum. It is a very well-tested theory; in this way, the Minkowski spacetime must be "capturing" essential features of space and time. However, its geometry seems to be incompatible with…
With the theory of special relativity, time has been linked with space into a four-dimensional space-time from which a basic question must be asked: can space be really transformed into time and vice-versa? The response is affirmative if…
It seems to be a common belief that the space in which we live is a space-time manifold of dimension at least four. In the present article we wish to draw attention to a slightly different possibility - a space-time pseudomanifold (or even…
Time is, figuratively and literally, becoming the new dimension for crystalline matter. As such, rapid recent progress on time-varying media gave rise to the notion of temporal and spatiotemporal crystals. Fundamentally rethinking the role…
In a 1967 paper, Zeeman proposed a new topology for Minkowski spacetime, physically motivated but much more complicated than the standard one. Here a detailed study is given of some properties of the Zeeman topology which had not been…
Four-dimensional spacetime, together with a natural generalisation to extra dimensions, is obtained through an analysis of the structures and symmetries deriving from possible arithmetic expressions for one-dimensional time. On taking the…
The notion of G-structure is defined and various geometrical and topological aspects of such structures are discussed. A particular chain of subgroups in the affine group for Minkowski space is chosen and the canonical geometrical and…
Special relativity turns out to be more than coordinate transformations in which the constancy of the speed of light plays the central role between two inertial reference frames. Special relativity, in essence, is a theory of…
A simple visual representation of Minkowski spacetime appropriate for a student with a background in geometry and algebra is presented. Minkowski spacetime can be modeled with a Euclidean 4-space to yield accurate visualizations as…
Postulates which lead to Minkowski spacetime are amended in a subtle way, and used to construct a consistent flat spacetime geometry with intrinsic quantum character. Events in the new quantum geometry are described by labels of the form…
We live in a 3+1 space-time that is intended as a description of the universe with three space dimensions and one time dimension. Space-time dimensionality seems so natural that it is rarely criticized. Experiments and the highly successful…
The special theory of relativity has fundamentally changed our views of space and time. The relativity of simultaneity in particular, and the theory of relativity as a whole, still presents significant difficulty for beginners in the…
Within the framework of projective geometry, we investigate kinematics and symmetry in $(\alpha,\beta)$ spacetime-one special types of Finsler spacetime. The projectively flat $(\alpha,\beta)$ spacetime with constant flag curvature is…
A generalised equivalence principle is put forward according to which space-time symmetries and internal quantum symmetries are indistinguishable before symmetry breaking. Based on this principle, a higher-dimensional extension of Minkowski…
The unitary representations of the Poincare group of a discrete space-time are constructed, following the Wigner method in continuum relativity. They can be interpreted as elementary particles with one significant new feature: the momentum…
We show how the Minkowskian space-time emerges from a topologically homogeneous causal network, presenting a simple analytical derivation of the Lorentz transformations, with metric as pure event-counting. The derivation holds generally for…