Causality and Legendrian linking for higher dimensional spacetimes (Q1788796)

If \((X^{m+1},g)\) is an \((m+1)\)-dimensional Lorentz manifold and \(x\in X\), then a nonzero \(v\in T_xX\) is called time-like, space-like, non-space-like (causal), or null (light-like) if \(g(v,v)\) is respectively negative, positive, non-positive, or zero. A piecewise smooth curve is time-like if all of its velocity vectors are time-like. Null and non-space-like curves are defined similarly. Since the Lorentz manifold \((X,g)\) has a unique Levi-Civita connection, then time-like and null geodesics exist. A submanifold \(M\subset X\) is space-like if \(g\) restricted to \(TM\) is a Riemann metric. All non-space-like vectors in \(T_xX\) form a cone consisting of two hemicones, and a continuous choice of one of the two hemicones with respect to \(x\in X\) is called the time orientation of \((X,g)\), and the vectors from the chosen hemicones are called future directed. A time-oriented Lorentz manifold is called a spacetime and its points are called events. In a spacetime \((X,g)\) the causal future \(J^+(x)\) of \(x\in X\) is the set of all \(y\in X\) that can be reached by a future pointing causal curve from \(x\). The causal past \(J^-(x)\) of the event \(x\in X\) is defined similarly. Two events \(x,y\) are said to be causally related if \(x\in J^+(y)\) or \(y\in J^+(x)\). A spacetime is said to be globally hyperbolic if \(J^+(x)\cap J^-(y)\) is compact for every \(x,y\in X\) and if it is causal, i.e., it has no closed non-space-like curves. A Cauchy surface in \((X,g)\) is a subset such that every inextendible non-space-like curve \(\gamma(t)\) intersects it at exactly one value of \(t\). The set \(\mathfrak{N}\) of equivalence classes of inextendible future-directed null geodesics up to an orientation preserving affine reparametrization for a spacetime \(X\) is called its space of light rays. If \((X,g)\) is a globally hyperbolic spacetime with Cauchy surface \(M\), then \(\mathfrak{S}_x\subset\mathfrak{N}\), for \(x\in X\), is the Legendrian sphere of all unparameterized, future directed light rays passing through \(x\). For two causally unrelated points \(x,y\in X\) the Legendrian link \((\mathfrak{S}_x, \mathfrak{S}_y)\) in \({\mathcal{N}}=ST^*M\) does not depend on the choice of the causally unrelated points, and it is Legendrian isotopic to the link of sphere-fibers over two points of some space-like Cauchy surface \(M\). A Legendrian link is called trivial if it is isotopic to such a link. In [Geom. Funct. Anal. 19(2009), No. 5, 1320--1333 (2010; Zbl 1186.83013)], the present author and \textit{S. Nemirovski} proved that if the universal cover \(\widetilde{M}\) of a Cauchy surface \(M\) of \(X\) is not compact and events \(x, y\in X\) are causally related, then the Legendrian link \((\mathfrak{S}_x, \mathfrak{S}_y)\) is nontrivial. In this paper, the author proves that if two events \(x,y\) in a globally hyperbolic spacetime \(X\) are causally related and the universal cover \(\widetilde{M}\) of a Cauchy surface \(M\) of \(X\) is compact but does not have integral cohomology ring of a compact rank-one symmetric space, then the Legendrian link \((\mathfrak{S}_x, \mathfrak{S}_y)\) is nontrivial and is not Legendrian isotopic to \((\mathfrak{S}_y,\mathfrak{S}_x)\).