On the structure of space-time caustics

DOI10.1007/BF01213213MaRDI QIDQ762476zbMATH OpenFDO

Authors K. Rosquist

Publication date 1983

Published in Communications in Mathematical Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01213213

zbMATH Keywords

causticconjugate locusLorentz spacenull geodesicstimelike geodesics

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Geodesics in global differential geometry (53C22) Global differential geometry of Lorentz manifolds, manifolds with indefinite metrics (53C50)

Review text

The caustics of geodesics from a point p in a Lorentz space M are investigated in M as well as in \(T_ p\). For timelike and null geodesics, results and ideas of proof by \textit{F. W. Warner} [Am. J. Math. 575-604 (1965; Zbl 0129.360)] can be carried over: The regular part of the timelike \(\{\) resp. null\(\}\) conjugate locus in \(T_ p\) forms a smooth submanifold of dimension of \(T_ p\) (n-1) \(\{\) resp. (n-2)\(\}\) and is open dense in the full caustic. It is not clear whether the convergence property also holds for spacelike geodesics as they have two properties preventing application of Warner's ideas: No index theory exists as they are not locally extremal; two subsets of vectors orthogonal mutually and to the tangent of the geodesic can contain a common nonzero (null) vector. If all past null geodesics of p encounter conjugate points the caustic in \(T_ p\) has at least one degenerate point in M and a cusp; if all points are degenerate, M is spatially closed.

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Cites work

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Cited in

(7)

• Null cut loci of spacelike surfaces
• On the conjugate locus of pseudo-Riemannian manifolds
• On null cut points in two-dimensional spacetimes
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 446405 (Why is no real title available?)
• Refocusing of light rays in space-time
• Regularity and continuity properties of the sub-Riemannian exponential map
• Topological consequences of null-geodesic refocusing and applications to Z^x manifolds

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