572 research outputs found
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
Palatini's cousin: A New Variational Principle
A variational principle is suggested within Riemannnian geometry, in which an
auxiliary metric and the Levi Civita connection are varied independently. The
auxiliary metric plays the role of a Lagrange multiplier and introduces
non-minimal coupling of matter to the curvature scalar. The field equations are
2nd order PDEs and easier to handle than those following from the so-called
Palatini method. Moreover, in contrast to the latter method. no gradients of
the matter variables appear. In cosmological modeling, the physics resulting
from the new variational principle will differ from the modeling using the
Palatini method.Comment: 12 page
PP-waves with torsion and metric-affine gravity
A classical pp-wave is a 4-dimensional Lorentzian spacetime which admits a
nonvanishing parallel spinor field; here the connection is assumed to be
Levi-Civita. We generalise this definition to metric compatible spacetimes with
torsion and describe basic properties of such spacetimes. We use our
generalised pp-waves for constructing new explicit vacuum solutions of
quadratic metric-affine gravity.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX2
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
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
Measurement Theory and General Relativity
The theory of measurement is employed to elucidate the physical basis of
general relativity. For measurements involving phenomena with intrinsic length
or time scales, such scales must in general be negligible compared to the
(translational and rotational) scales characteristic of the motion of the
observer. Thus general relativity is a consistent theory of coincidences so
long as these involve classical point particles and electromagnetic rays
(geometric optics). Wave optics is discussed and the limitations of the
standard theory in this regime are pointed out. A nonlocal theory of
accelerated observers is briefly described that is consistent with observation
and excludes the possibility of existence of a fundamental scalar field in
nature.Comment: LaTeX springer style lamu.cls, 2 figures, 16 pages, published in:
Black Holes: Theory and Observation: Proceedings of the 179th W.E. Heraeus
Seminar, held August 1997 in Bad Honnef, Germany. F.W. Hehl et al.(eds).
(Springer, Berlin Heidelberg 1998
Metric-affine gauge theory of gravity II. Exact solutions
In continuing our series on metric-affine gravity (see Gronwald IJMP D6
(1997) 263 for Part I), we review the exact solutions in this theory.Comment: Revtex file, 25 pages, final version to appear in IJMP
A formal framework for a nonlocal generalization of Einstein's theory of gravitation
The analogy between electrodynamics and the translational gauge theory of
gravity is employed in this paper to develop an ansatz for a nonlocal
generalization of Einstein's theory of gravitation. Working in the linear
approximation, we show that the resulting nonlocal theory is equivalent to
general relativity with "dark matter". The nature of the predicted "dark
matter", which is the manifestation of the nonlocal character of gravity in our
model, is briefly discussed. It is demonstrated that this approach can provide
a basis for the Tohline-Kuhn treatment of the astrophysical evidence for dark
matter.Comment: 13 pages RevTex, no figures; v2: minor corrections, reference added,
matches published versio
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
A generalized photon propagator
A covariant gauge independent derivation of the generalized dispersion
relation of electromagnetic waves in a medium with local and linear
constitutive law is presented. A generalized photon propagator is derived. For
Maxwell constitutive tensor, the standard light cone structure and the standard
Feynman propagator are reinstated
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