Einstein algebras and general relativity (Q1184057)

After some necessary algebraic preliminaries have been given, mainly to establish notation and conventions, the Geroch program is developed. (This consists of presenting general relativity as a special case of a more general purely algebraic structure.) Stress is put on functional representations of the Einstein algebra (Gelfand). Two such representations are discussed in some detail. One of them is equivalent to the global formulation of orthodox general relativity, the other is its generalization. In particular some mild types of singularities become intrinsic elements of the new theory. It turns out that in order to include other types of singularities (also curvature singularities) into the theoretical scheme, one must change from Einstein algebras to sheaves of Einstein algebras. The method is tested on the example of spacetime due to a straight cosmic string with quasiregular singularity. The sheaf of Einstein algebras fully modeling such a configuration is constructed. Finally, some comments are given with emphasis on the gravity quantization problem and observational possibilities of algebraic theories of gravitation.