228,958 research outputs found
Localized Exotic Smoothness
Gompf's end-sum techniques are used to establish the existence of an infinity
of non-diffeomorphic manifolds, all having the same trivial
topology, but for which the exotic differentiable structure is confined to a
region which is spatially limited. Thus, the smoothness is standard outside of
a region which is topologically (but not smoothly) ,
where is the compact three ball. The exterior of this region is
diffeomorphic to standard . In a
space-time diagram, the confined exoticness sweeps out a world tube which, it
is conjectured, might act as a source for certain non-standard solutions to the
Einstein equations. It is shown that smooth Lorentz signature metrics can be
globally continued from ones given on appropriately defined regions, including
the exterior (standard) region. Similar constructs are provided for the
topology, of the Kruskal form of the Schwarzschild
solution. This leads to conjectures on the existence of Einstein metrics which
are externally identical to standard black hole ones, but none of which can be
globally diffeomorphic to such standard objects. Certain aspects of the Cauchy
problem are also discussed in terms of \models which are
``half-standard'', say for all but for which cannot be globally
smooth.Comment: 8 pages plus 6 figures, available on request, IASSNS-HEP-94/2
Optimal Order Convergence Implies Numerical Smoothness
It is natural to expect the following loosely stated approximation principle
to hold: a numerical approximation solution should be in some sense as smooth
as its target exact solution in order to have optimal convergence. For
piecewise polynomials, that means we have to at least maintain numerical
smoothness in the interiors as well as across the interfaces of cells or
elements. In this paper we give clear definitions of numerical smoothness that
address the across-interface smoothness in terms of scaled jumps in derivatives
[9] and the interior numerical smoothness in terms of differences in derivative
values. Furthermore, we prove rigorously that the principle can be simply
stated as numerical smoothness is necessary for optimal order convergence. It
is valid on quasi-uniform meshes by triangles and quadrilaterals in two
dimensions and by tetrahedrons and hexahedrons in three dimensions. With this
validation we can justify, among other things, incorporation of this principle
in creating adaptive numerical approximation for the solution of PDEs or ODEs,
especially in designing proper smoothness indicators or detecting potential
non-convergence and instability
Exotic Smoothness and Physics
The essential role played by differentiable structures in physics is reviewed
in light of recent mathematical discoveries that topologically trivial
space-time models, especially the simplest one, , possess a rich
multiplicity of such structures, no two of which are diffeomorphic to each
other and thus to the standard one. This means that physics has available to it
a new panoply of structures available for space-time models. These can be
thought of as source of new global, but not properly topological, features.
This paper reviews some background differential topology together with a
discussion of the role which a differentiable structure necessarily plays in
the statement of any physical theory, recalling that diffeomorphisms are at the
heart of the principle of general relativity. Some of the history of the
discovery of exotic, i.e., non-standard, differentiable structures is reviewed.
Some new results suggesting the spatial localization of such exotic structures
are described and speculations are made on the possible opportunities that such
structures present for the further development of physical theories.Comment: 13 pages, LaTe
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