Field equations in teleparallel space-time: Einstein's \textit{Fernparallelismus} approach toward unified field theory (Q860379)

In a number of publications that appeared in the period from summer 1928 until spring 1931 Einstein pursued the \textit{Fernparallelismus} approach toward a unified field theory of gravitation and electromagnetism. In this theory, a space-time characterized by a curvature-free connection in conjunction with a metric tensor field, both defined in terms of a dynamical tetrad field, is investigated. In the present historical analysis Einstein's distant parallelism is characterized first as a mathematical structure in the context of Einstein's unified field theory program. Soon after the publication of his first two notes in 1928 Einstein entered into intense interaction with several other mathematicians and scientists (H. Müntz, R. Weitzenböck, C. Lanczos, much later E. Cartan, W. Mayer). In his next papers in 1929--1931 Einstein was searching for field equations. Two of his approaches (variational and overdetermination) are characterized in the present paper by means of the mathematical formalism. Also the correspondence is considered between Einstein and Cartan, who on 8 May 1929 pointed out to Einstein that the mathematical framework of \textit{Fernparallelismus} was, indeed, a special case of a generalization of Riemannian geometry which ``I outlined briefly in 1922 in an article in the Comptes Rendues''. In the historical analysis special attention is given to the question of how Einstein tried to find field equations for the tetrads. It is claimed that the failure to find a uniquely determined set of acceptable field equations eventually led to Einstein's abandoning this approach. Some historical and systematic similarities are commented between the \textit{Fernparallelismus} episode and the \textit{Entwurf theory}, i.e., the precursor theory of general relativity pursued by Einstein in the years 1912--1915.