Flavour-oscillation clocks and the geometricity of general relativity

DOI10.1093/BJPS/AXP045MaRDI QIDQ4930167zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Eleanor Knox

Publication date 28 September 2010

Published in The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/0809.0274

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Geometry and quantization, symplectic methods (81S10) Einstein's equations (general structure, canonical formalism, Cauchy problems) (83C05) Relativistic gravitational theories other than Einstein's, including asymmetric field theories (83D05) Geometrodynamics and the holographic principle (83E05) Relativistic cosmology (83F05)

Abstract: I look at the 'flavour-oscillation clocks' proposed by D.V. Ahluwalia, and two arguments of his suggesting that such clocks might behave in a way that threatens the geometricity of general relativity (GR). The first argument states that the behaviour of these clocks in the vicinity of a rotating gravitational source implies a non-geometric element of gravity. I argue that the phenomenon is best seen as an instance of violation of the 'clock hypothesis', and therefore does not threaten the geometrical nature of gravitation. Ahluwalia's second argument, for the 'incompleteness' of general relativity, involves the idea that flavour-oscillation clocks can detect constant gravitational potentials. I argue that the purported 'incompleteness-establishing' result is in fact one that applies to all clocks. It is entirely derivable from GR, does not result in the observability of the potential, and is not at odds with any of GR's foundations.

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