Lorentzian manifold: Difference between revisions

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A '''Lorentzian manifold''' is the following data:
A '''Lorentzian manifold''' is the following data:


* A [[differential manifold]] <math>>M</math>
* A [[differential manifold]] <math>M</math>
* A symmetric nondegenerate bilinear form of type <math>(n,1)</math> on each tangent space, such that the form varies smoothly with the point.
* A symmetric nondegenerate bilinear form of type <math>(n,1)</math> on each tangent space, such that the form varies smoothly with the point.



Revision as of 18:14, 14 June 2007

This article defines a differential manifold with the following additional structure -- the structure group is reduced to: Lorentzian group viz a group of the form

Definition

A Lorentzian manifold is the following data:

  • A differential manifold
  • A symmetric nondegenerate bilinear form of type on each tangent space, such that the form varies smoothly with the point.

In other words, a Lorentzian manifold is the reduction of the structure group of a differential manifold to the Lorentzian group .

Lorentzian manifolds are special cases of pseudo-Riemannian manifolds. Thus, all the generic constructs for a pseudo-Riemannian manifold apply to Lorentzian manifolds.