Relativistic rigid systems and the cosmic expansion (Q2226097)

The two fundamental questions addressed in this work are: ``Can we build rigid bodies if space itself is expanding?'' and ``Does the answer depend on the underlying model of the universe?''. The authors first recall the classical notion of \textit{M. Born} rigidity [Ann. der Phys. (4) 30, 1--56 (1909; JFM 40.0930.02)] and establish its relation to Killing flows, as well as the Herglotz-Noether theorem. They also introduce the concept of quasilocal rigidity. The main part of the paper is concerned with concrete models of expanding universes. It is shown that while maintaining non-expanding bodies in a general FLRW universe is impossible, in the special settings of Newtonian approximation and de Sitter spacetime there is a positive answer. In dynamical FLRW spacetime one can construct quasilocal rigid bodies. The paper closes with a discussion of gravitational energy under this point of view.