434 research outputs found
Metric Solutions in Torsionless Gauge for Vacuum Conformal Gravity
In a recent paper we have established the form of the metric-torsional
conformal gravitational field equations, and in the present paper we study
their vacuum configurations; we will consider a specific situation that will
enable us to look for the torsionless limit: two types of special exact
solutions are found eventually. A discussion on general remarks will follow.Comment: 11 page
The Einstein static universe with torsion and the sign problem of the cosmological constant
In the field equations of Einstein-Cartan theory with cosmological constant a
static spherically symmetric perfect fluid with spin density satisfying the
Weyssenhoff restriction is considered. This serves as a rough model of space
filled with (fermionic) dark matter. From this the Einstein static universe
with constant torsion is constructed, generalising the Einstein Cosmos to
Einstein-Cartan theory.
The interplay between torsion and the cosmological constant is discussed. A
possible way out of the cosmological constant's sign problem is suggested.Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX; minor layout changes, typos corrected, one new
equation, new reference [5], completed reference [13], two references adde
Autoparallels From a New Action Principle
We present a simpler and more powerful version of the recently-discovered
action principle for the motion of a spinless point particle in spacetimes with
curvature and torsion. The surprising feature of the new principle is that an
action involving only the metric can produce an equation of motion with a
torsion force, thus changing geodesics to autoparallels. This additional
torsion force arises from a noncommutativity of variations with parameter
derivatives of the paths due to the closure failure of parallelograms in the
presence of torsionComment: Paper in src. Author Information under
http://www.physik.fu-berlin.de/~kleinert/institution.html Read paper directly
with Netscape under
http://www.physik.fu-berlin.de/~kleinert/kleiner_re243/preprint.htm
Test Matter in a Spacetime with Nonmetricity
Examples in which spacetime might become non-Riemannian appear above Planck
energies in string theory or, in the very early universe, in the inflationary
model. The simplest such geometry is metric-affine geometry, in which {\it
nonmetricity} appears as a field strength, side by side with curvature and
torsion. In matter, the shear and dilation currents couple to nonmetricity, and
they are its sources. After reviewing the equations of motion and the Noether
identities, we study two recent vacuum solutions of the metric-affine gauge
theory of gravity. We then use the values of the nonmetricity in these
solutions to study the motion of the appropriate test-matter. As a
Regge-trajectory like hadronic excitation band, the test matter is endowed with
shear degrees of freedom and described by a world spinor.Comment: 14 pages, file in late
Axial Torsion-Dirac spin Effect in Rotating Frame with Relativistic Factor
In the framework of spacetime with torsion and without curvature, the Dirac
particle spin precession in the rotational system is studied. We write out the
equivalent tetrad of rotating frame, in the polar coordinate system, through
considering the relativistic factor, and the resultant equivalent metric is a
flat Minkowski one. The obtained rotation-spin coupling formula can be applied
to the high speed rotating case, which is consistent with the expectation.Comment: 6 page
On reference frames in spacetime and gravitational energy in freely falling frames
We consider the interpretation of tetrad fields as reference frames in
spacetime. Reference frames may be characterized by an antisymmetric
acceleration tensor, whose components are identified as the inertial
accelerations of the frame (the translational acceleration and the frequency of
rotation of the frame). This tensor is closely related to
gravitoelectromagnetic field quantities. We construct the set of tetrad fields
adapted to observers that are in free fall in the Schwarzschild spacetime, and
show that the gravitational energy-momentum constructed out of this set of
tetrad fields, in the framework of the teleparallel equivalent of general
relatrivity, vanishes. This result is in agreement with the principle of
equivalence, and may be taken as a condition for a viable definition of
gravitational energy.Comment: 19 pages, no figures, accepted by Classical and Quantum Gravit
On possible skewon effects on light propagation
We start from a local and linear spacetime relation between the
electromagnetic excitation and the field strength. Then we study the generally
covariant Fresnel surfaces for light rays and light waves. The metric and the
connection of spacetime are left unspecified. Accordingly, our framework is
ideally suited for a search of possible violations of the Lorentz symmetry in
the photon sector of the extended standard model. We discuss how the skewon
part of the constitutive tensor, if suitably parametrized, influences the
Fresnel surfaces and disturbs the light cones of vacuum electrodynamics.
Conditions are specified that yield the reduction of the original quartic
Fresnel surface to the double light cone structure (birefringence) and to the
single light cone. Qualitatively, the effects of the real skewon field can be
compared to those in absorbing material media. In contrast, the imaginary
skewon field can be interpreted in terms of non-absorbing media with natural
optical activity and Faraday effects. The astrophysical data on gamma-ray
bursts are used for deriving an upper limit for the magnitude of the skewon
field.Comment: Revtex, 29 pages, 10 figures, references added, text as in the
published versio
Einstein-aether theory, violation of Lorentz invariance, and metric-affine gravity
We show that the Einstein-aether theory of Jacobson and Mattingly (J&M) can
be understood in the framework of the metric-affine (gauge theory of) gravity
(MAG). We achieve this by relating the aether vector field of J&M to certain
post-Riemannian nonmetricity pieces contained in an independent linear
connection of spacetime. Then, for the aether, a corresponding geometrical
curvature-square Lagrangian with a massive piece can be formulated
straightforwardly. We find an exact spherically symmetric solution of our
model.Comment: Revtex4, 38 pages, 1 figur
Pound-Rebka experiment and torsion in the Schwarzschild spacetime
We develop some ideas discussed by E. Schucking [arXiv:0803.4128] concerning
the geometry of the gravitational field. First, we address the concept
according to which the gravitational acceleration is a manifestation of the
spacetime torsion, not of the curvature tensor. It is possible to show that
there are situations in which the geodesic acceleration of a particle may
acquire arbitrary values, whereas the curvature tensor approaches zero. We
conclude that the spacetime curvature does not affect the geodesic
acceleration. Then we consider the the Pound-Rebka experiment, which relates
the time interval of two light signals emitted at a position
, to the time interval of the signals received at a
position , in a Schwarzschild type gravitational field. The experiment is
determined by four spacetime events. The infinitesimal vectors formed by these
events do not form a parallelogram in the (t,r) plane. The failure in the
closure of the parallelogram implies that the spacetime has torsion. We find
the explicit form of the torsion tensor that explains the nonclosure of the
parallelogram.Comment: 16 pages, two figures, one typo fixed, one paragraph added in section
Torsion nonminimally coupled to the electromagnetic field and birefringence
In conventional Maxwell--Lorentz electrodynamics, the propagation of light is
influenced by the metric, not, however, by the possible presence of a torsion
T. Still the light can feel torsion if the latter is coupled nonminimally to
the electromagnetic field F by means of a supplementary Lagrangian of the type
l^2 T^2 F^2 (l = coupling constant). Recently Preuss suggested a specific
nonminimal term of this nature. We evaluate the spacetime relation of Preuss in
the background of a general O(3)-symmetric torsion field and prove by
specifying the optical metric of spacetime that this can yield birefringence in
vacuum. Moreover, we show that the nonminimally coupled homogeneous and
isotropic torsion field in a Friedmann cosmos affects the speed of light.Comment: Revtex, 12 pages, no figure
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