6 research outputs found
Cosmological measurements, time and observables in (2+1)-dimensional gravity
We investigate the relation between measurements and the physical observables
for vacuum spacetimes with compact spatial surfaces in (2+1)-gravity with
vanishing cosmological constant. By considering an observer who emits lightrays
that return to him at a later time, we obtain explicit expressions for several
measurable quantities as functions on the physical phase space of the theory:
the eigentime elapsed between the emission of a lightray and its return to the
observer, the angles between the directions into which the light has to be
emitted to return to the observer and the relative frequencies of the lightrays
at their emission and return. This provides a framework in which conceptual
questions about time, observables and measurements can be addressed. We analyse
the properties of these measurements and their geometrical interpretation and
show how they allow an observer to determine the values of the Wilson loop
observables that parametrise the physical phase space of (2+1)-gravity. We
discuss the role of time in the theory and demonstrate that the specification
of an observer with respect to the spacetime's geometry amounts to a gauge
fixing procedure yielding Dirac observables.Comment: 38 pages, 11 eps figures, typos corrected, references update
Fuchsian convex bodies: basics of Brunn--Minkowski theory
The hyperbolic space \H^d can be defined as a pseudo-sphere in the
Minkowski space-time. In this paper, a Fuchsian group is a group of
linear isometries of the Minkowski space such that \H^d/\Gamma is a compact
manifold. We introduce Fuchsian convex bodies, which are closed convex sets in
Minkowski space, globally invariant for the action of a Fuchsian group. A
volume can be associated to each Fuchsian convex body, and, if the group is
fixed, Minkowski addition behaves well. Then Fuchsian convex bodies can be
studied in the same manner as convex bodies of Euclidean space in the classical
Brunn--Minkowski theory. For example, support functions can be defined, as
functions on a compact hyperbolic manifold instead of the sphere.
The main result is the convexity of the associated volume (it is log concave
in the classical setting). This implies analogs of Alexandrov--Fenchel and
Brunn--Minkowski inequalities. Here the inequalities are reversed
Notes on a paper of Mess
These notes are a companion to the article "Lorentz spacetimes of constant
curvature" by Geoffrey Mess, which was first written in 1990 but never
published. Mess' paper will appear together with these notes in a forthcoming
issue of Geometriae Dedicata.Comment: 26 page