Observers with constant proper acceleration, constant proper jerk, and beyond

DOI10.1007/S10714-019-2562-XMaRDI QIDQ2003378zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors J. M. Pons, Ferran de Palol

Publication date 8 July 2019

Published in General Relativity and Gravitation (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1811.06267

zbMATH Keywords

accelerated observer in flat and curved spacetimefirst and second curvature invariantsFrenet-Serret formalismjerksnap

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Applications of differential geometry to physics (53Z05) Equations of motion in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C10)

Abstract: We discuss in Minkowski spacetime the differences between the concepts of constant proper $n$-acceleration and of vanishing $(n+1)$-acceleration. By $n$-acceleration we essentially mean the higher order time derivatives of the position vector of the trajectory of a point particle, adapted to Minkowski spacetime or eventually to curved spacetime. The $2$-acceleration is known as the Jerk, the $3$-acceleration as the Snap, etc. As for the concept of {sl proper} $n$-acceleration we give a specific definition involving the instantaneous comoving frame of the observer and we discuss, in such framework, the difficulties in finding a characterization of this notion as a Lorentz invariant statement. We show how the Frenet-Serret formalism helps to address the problem. In particular we find that our definition of an observer with constant proper acceleration corresponds to the vanishing of the third curvature invariant $kapp{a}_3$ (thus the motion is three dimensional in Minkowski spacetime) together with the constancy of the first and second curvature invariants and the restriction $kapp{a}_2<kapp{a}_1$, the particular case $kapp{a}_2=0$ being the one commonly referred to in the literature. We generalize these concepts to curved spacetime, in which the notion of trajectory in a plane is replaced by the vanishing of the second curvature invariant $kapp{a}_2$. Under this condition, the concept of constant proper $n$-acceleration coincides with that of the vanising of the $(n+1)$-acceleration and is characterized by the fact that the first curvature invariant $kapp{a}_1$ is a $(n-1)$-degree polynomial of proper time. We illustrate some of our results with examples in Minkowski, de Sitter and Schwarzschild spacetimes.

Recommendations

• Uniform acceleration in general relativity
• Uniformly accelerated motion in general relativity: completeness of inextensible trajectories
• Relativistic kinematics and stationary motions
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1834064
• Absolute and relative Frenet-Serret frames and Fermi-Walker transport

Cites work

• Cosmic jerk, snap and beyond
• Extended gauge invariance in geometrical particle models and the geometry of \(W\)-symmetry
• Gravitation and Spacetime
• Gravitation. Foundations and frontiers.
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 794696 (Why is no real title available?)
• Length measurement in accelerated systems
• Making the relativistic dynamics equation \textit{covariant}: explicit solutions for motion under a constant force
• Relativistic kinematics and stationary motions
• The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time
• The Unruh effect and its applications
• Uniform acceleration in general relativity
• Uniformly accelerated motion in general relativity: completeness of inextensible trajectories

Cited in

(5)

• On cosmological expansion and local physics
• A coaccelerated observer
• Relativistic kinematics and stationary motions
• $lquot$Proper acceleration$rquot$ of a null geodesic in curved spacetime
• A note on the acceleration and jerk in motion along a space curve

This page was built for publication: Observers with constant proper acceleration, constant proper jerk, and beyond

Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q2003378)