40,345 research outputs found
On the formal statement of the special principle of relativity
The aim of the paper is to develop a proper mathematical formalism which can help to clarify the necessary conceptual plugins to the special principle of relativity and leads to a deeper understanding of the principle in its widest generality
On the formal statement of the special principle of relativity
The aim of the paper is to develop a proper mathematical formalism which can
help to clarify the necessary conceptual plugins to the special principle of
relativity and leads to a deeper understanding of the principle in its widest
generality.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figure
Dynamical Structure and Definition of Energy in General Relativity
The problem of the dynamical structure and definition of energy for the classical general theory of relativity is considered on a formal level. As in a previous paper, the technique used is the Schwinger action principle. Starting with the full Einstein Lagrangian in first order Palatini form, an action integral is derived in which the algebraic constraint variables have been eliminated. This action possesses a "Hamiltonian" density which, however, vanishes due to the differential constraints. If the differential constraints are then substituted into the action, the true, nonvanishing Hamiltonian of the theory emerges. From an analysis of the equations of motion and the constraint equations, the two pairs of dynamical variables which represent the two independent degrees of freedom of the gravitational field are explicitly exhibited. Four other variables remain in theory; these may be arbitrarily specified, any such specification representing a choice of coordinate frame. It is shown that it is possible to obtain truly canonical pairs of variables in terms of the dynamical and arbitrary variables. Thus a statement of the dynamics is meaningful only after a set of coordinate conditions have been chosen. In general, the true Hamiltonian will be time dependent even for an isolated gravitational field. There thus arises the notion of a preferred coordinate frame, i.e., that frame in which the Hamiltonian is conserved. In this special frame, on physical grounds, the Hamiltonian may be taken to define the energy of the field. In these respects the situation in general relativity is analogous to the parametric form of Hamilton's principle in particle mechanics
Synchronization Gauges and the Principles of Special Relativity
The axiomatic bases of Special Relativity Theory (SRT) are thoroughly
re-examined from an operational point of view, with particular emphasis on the
status of Einstein synchronization in the light of the possibility of arbitrary
synchronization procedures in inertial reference frames. Once correctly and
explicitly phrased, the principles of SRT allow for a wide range of `theories'
that differ from the standard SRT only for the difference in the chosen
synchronization procedures, but are wholly equivalent to SRT in predicting
empirical facts. This results in the introduction, in the full background of
SRT, of a suitable synchronization gauge. A complete hierarchy of
synchronization gauges is introduced and elucidated, ranging from the useful
Selleri synchronization gauge (which should lead, according to Selleri, to a
multiplicity of theories alternative to SRT) to the more general Mansouri-Sexl
synchronization gauge and, finally, to the even more general
Anderson-Vetharaniam-Stedman's synchronization gauge. It is showed that all
these gauges do not challenge the SRT, as claimed by Selleri, but simply lead
to a number of formalisms which leave the geometrical structure of Minkowski
spacetime unchanged. Several aspects of fundamental and applied interest
related to the conventional aspect of the synchronization choice are discussed,
encompassing the issue of the one-way velocity of light on inertial and
rotating reference frames, the GPS's working, and the recasting of Maxwell
equations in generic synchronizations. Finally, it is showed how the gauge
freedom introduced in SRT can be exploited in order to give a clear explanation
of the Sagnac effect for counter-propagating matter beams.Comment: 56 pages, 3 eps figures, invited paper; to appear in Foundations of
Physics (Special Issue to honor Prof. Franco Selleri on his 70th birthday
Temporal naturalism
Two people may claim both to be naturalists, but have divergent conceptions
of basic elements of the natural world which lead them to mean different things
when they talk about laws of nature, or states, or the role of mathematics in
physics. These disagreements do not much affect the ordinary practice of
science which is about small subsystems of the universe, described or explained
against a background, idealized to be fixed. But these issues become crucial
when we consider including the whole universe within our system, for then there
is no fixed background to reference observables to. I argue here that the key
issue responsible for divergent versions of naturalism and divergent approaches
to cosmology is the conception of time. One version, which I call temporal
naturalism, holds that time, in the sense of the succession of present moments,
is real, and that laws of nature evolve in that time. This is contrasted with
timeless naturalism, which holds that laws are immutable and the present moment
and its passage are illusions. I argue that temporal naturalism is empirically
more adequate than the alternatives, because it offers testable explanations
for puzzles its rivals cannot address, and is likely a better basis for solving
major puzzles that presently face cosmology and physics.
This essay also addresses the problem of qualia and experience within
naturalism and argues that only temporal naturalism can make a place for qualia
as intrinsic qualities of matter
Background Independence, Diffeomorphism Invariance, and the Meaning of Coordinates
Diffeomorphism invariance is sometimes taken to be a criterion of background
independence. This claim is commonly accompanied by a second, that the genuine
physical magnitudes (the "observables") of background-independent theories and
those of background-dependent (non-diffeomorphism-invariant) theories are
essentially different in nature. I argue against both claims.
Background-dependent theories can be formulated in a diffeomorphism-invariant
manner. This suggests that the nature of the physical magnitudes of relevantly
analogous theories (one background free, the other background dependent) is
essentially the same. The temptation to think otherwise stems from a
misunderstanding of the meaning of spacetime coordinates in
background-dependent theories.Comment: 42 page
- âŠ