Off-mass-shell dynamics in flat spacetime

In the covariant Hamiltonian mechanics with action-at-a-distance, we compare the proper time and dynamical time representations of the coordinate space world line using the differential geometry of nongeodesic curves in 3+1 Minkowski spacetime. The covariant generalization of the Serret-Frenet equations for the point particle with interaction are derived using the arc length representation. A set of invariant point particle kinematical properties are derived which are equivalent to the solutions of the equations of motion in coordinate space and which are functions of either the proper time or the dynamical time. Expressions for the quantities are given for the example of the covariant harmonic oscillator and comments are offered regarding the measurability of the dynamical time.     

The covariant form of the Klein-Kramers equation and the associated moment equations

We provide a covariant, coordinate-free formulation of the many-dimensional Klein-Kramers equation for the phase space distribution of a Brownian particle. We construct a complete set of eigenfunctions of the collision operator adapted to the coordinate system, which involve covariant tensorial Hermite polynomials. The Klein-Kramers equation can then be reformulated as a system of coupled equations for the expansion coefficients with respect to this system. Truncation of this system of moment equations and application of a subsidiary condition yields a covariant generalization of Grad's thirteen-moment equations. As an application we give the explicit form of these equations for spherically symmetric, stationary solutions in spherical coordinates. We briefly comment on possible extensions of our treatment to slightly more complicated cases.     

On Relativistic Generalization of Gravitational Force

In relativistic theories, the assumption of proper mass constancy generally holds. We study gravitational relativistic mechanics of point particle in the novel approach of proper mass varying under Minkowski force action. The motivation and objective of this work are twofold: first, to show how the gravitational force can be included in the Special Relativity Mechanics framework, and, second, to investigate possible consequences of the revision of conventional proper mass concept (in particular, to clarify a proper mass role in the divergence problem). It is shown that photon motion in the gravitational field can be treated in terms of massless refracting medium, what makes the gravity phenomenon compatible with SR Mechanics framework in the variable proper mass approach. Specifically, the problem of point particle in the spherical symmetric stationary gravitational field is studied in SR-based Mechanics, and equations of motion in the Lorentz covariant form are obtained in the relativistic Lagrangean problem formulation. The dependence of proper mass on potential field strength is derived from the Euler-Lagrange equations as well. One of new results is the elimination of conventional 1/r divergence, which is known to be not removable in Schwarzschild gravitomechanics. Predictions of particle and photon gravitational properties are in agreement with GR classical tests under weak-field conditions; however, deviations rise with potential field strength. The conclusion is made that the approach of field-dependent proper mass is perspective for development of SR gravitational mechanics and further studies of gravitational problems.     

Radiation Reaction of the Classical Off-Shell Relativistic Charged Particle

It has been shown by Gupta and Padmanabhan that the radiation reaction force of the Abraham–Lorentz–Dirac equation can be obtained by a coordinate transformation from the inertial frame of an accelerating charged particle to that of the laboratory. We show that the problem may be formulated in a flat space of five dimensions, with five corresponding gauge fields in the framework of the classical version of a fully gauge covariant form of the Stueckelberg–Feynman–Schwinger covariant mechanics (the zero mode fields of the 0, 1, 2, 3 components correspond to the Maxwell fields). Without additional constraints, the particles and fields are not confined to their mass shells. We show that in the mass-shell limit, the generalized Lorentz force obtained by means of the retarded Green's functions for the five dimensional field equations provides the classical Abraham–Lorentz–Dirac radiation reaction terms (with renormalized mass and charge). We also obtain general coupled equations for the orbit and the off-shell dynamical mass during the evolution as well as an autonomous non-linear equation of third order for the off-shell mass. The theory does not admit radiation if the particle does not move off-shell. The structure of the equations implies that mass-shell deviation is bounded when the external field is removed.     

Fractional dynamics of systems with long-range space interaction and temporal memory

Field equations with time and coordinate derivatives of noninteger order are derived from a stationary action principle for the cases of power-law memory function and long-range interaction in systems. The method is applied to obtain a fractional generalization of the Ginzburg-Landau and nonlinear Schrödinger equations. As another example, dynamical equations for particle chains with power-law interaction and memory are considered in the continuous limit. The obtained fractional equations can be applied to complex media with/without random parameters or processes.     

A Covariant Hierarchy of Kinetic Equations for Classical Particles and Fields

It is shown that several problems, that are met when constructing a covariant statistical theory, can be circumverted demanding that only the resulting equation for the macroscopic entities are covariant whereas only mathematical meaning is ascribed to concepts as phase space and ensemble density. Accordingly a hierarchy of equations for averaged particle distributions and fields and their correlations is derived.     

The arithmetic basis of special relativity

Under relatively general particle and rocket frame motions, it is shown that, for special relativity, the basic concepts can be formulated and the basic properties deduced using only arithmetic. Particular attention is directed toward velocity, acceleration, proper time, momentum, energy, and 4-vectors in both space-time and Minkowski space, and to relativistic generalizations of Newton's second law. The resulting mathematical simplification is not only completely compatible with modern computer technology, but it yields dynamical equations that can be solved directly by such computers. Particular applications of the numerical equations, which are either Lorentz invariant or are directly related to Lorentz-invariant formulas, are made to the study of a relativistic harmonic oscillator and to the motion of an electric particle in a magnetic field.     

Covariant gauges and point sources in general relativity

The tree graph contributions to the vacuum expectation value of the quantized gravitational field produced by a point mass source are found to diverge. These divergences can be removed only by giving the source a finite extension, and it is first necessary to analyze the corresponding classical situation before making a comparison with the quantum theory. In this paper, the model for such an extended particle is taken to be a spherical shell of initially static pressure-free dust. Without solving the Einstein equations explicity, a coordinate-independent mass renormalization formula can be derived, valid at the moment of time symmetry, which relates the total mass of the system to the bare mass of the source and its invariant radius. The equations are then solved for various choices of coordinate systems, allowing the invariant radius of the shell to be expressed in terms of its coordinate dependent extension. The results are in agreement with those obtained previously by Arnowitt, Deser, and Misner. The work of these authors is generalized to include coordinate frames for which the metric is discontinuous across the shell. Aside from any intrinsic interest, such a generalization is necessary since the most convenient coordinate system for the quantum calculations, namely the covariant de Donder (harmonic) gauge, falls into this category. By expanding the total mass of the source in terms of its bare mass and harmonic coordinate extension, the classical Schwarzschild solution may be cast into a form which facilitates a direct comparison with the quantum theory in the de Donder gauge.     

Particles with curvature and torsion in three-dimensional pseudo-Riemannian space forms

We consider the motion of relativistic particles described by an action which is a function of the curvature and torsion of the particle path. The Euler–Lagrange equations and the dynamical constants of the motion are expressed in a simple way in terms of a suitable coordinate system. The moduli spaces of solutions in a three-dimensional pseudo-Riemannian space form are completely exhibited.     

Relativistic Mechanics of Continuous Media

In this work we study the relativistic mechanics of continuous media on a fundamental level using a manifestly covariant proper time procedure. We formulate equations of motion and continuity (and constitutive equations) that are the starting point for any calculations regarding continuous media. In the force free limit, the standard relativistic equations are regained, so that these equations can be regarded as a generalization of the standard procedure. In the case of an inviscid fluid we derive an analogue of the Bernoulli equation. For irrotational flow we prove that the velocity field can be derived from a potential. If in addition, the fluid is incompressible, the potential must obey the d'Alembert equation, and thus the problem is reduced to solving the d'Alembert equation with specific boundary conditions (in both space and time). The solutions indicate the existence of light velocity sound waves in an incompressible fluid (a result known in previous literature ⁽¹⁹⁾ ). Relaxing the constraints and allowing the fluid to become linearly compressible one can derive a wave equation, from which the sound velocity can again be computed. For a stationary background flow, it has been demonstrated that the sound velocity attains its correct values for the incompressible and nonrelativistic limits. Finally viscosity is introduced, bulk and shear viscosity constants are defined, and we formulate equations for the motion of a viscous fluid.     

Relativistic dynamics of stochastic particles

Particle motion in stochastic space, i.e., space whose coordinates consist of small, regular stochastic parts, is considered. A free particle in this space resembles a Brownian particle the motion of which is characterized by a dispersionD dependent on the universal length l. It is shown that in the first approximation in the parameter l the particle motion in an external force field is described by equations coincident in form with equations of stochastic mechanics due to Nelson, Kershow, and de la Pena-Auerbach. A method is proposed for the relativization of the scheme used to describe the processes in the stochastic space; by using this method, the equations of particle motion can be written in a covariant form.     

Classical radiation reaction off-shell corrections to the covariant Lorentz force

We show that the problem of radiation reaction may be formulated in a space of five dimensions, with five corresponding gauge fields in the framework of the classical version of a fully gauge covariant form of the Stueckelberg–Feynman–Schwinger covariant mechanics (the zero mode fields of the 0,1,2,3 components correspond to the Maxwell fields). The particles and fields are not confined to their mass shells. We show that in the mass-shell limit, the generalized Lorentz force obtained by means of the retarded Green's functions for the five-dimensional field equations provides the classical Abraham–Lorentz–Dirac radiation reaction terms (with renormalized mass and charge). We also obtain general coupled equations for the orbit and the off-shell dynamical mass during the evolution as well as an autonomous nonlinear equation of third order for the off-shell mass. The theory does not admit radiation if the particle does not move off-shell. The structure of the equations implies that the mass-shell deviation is bounded when the external field is removed.     

Particles and events in classical off-shell electrodynamics

Despite the many successes of the relativistic quantum theory developed by Horwitz et al., certain difficulties persist in the associated covariant classical mechanics. In this paper, we explore these difficulties through an examination of the classical. Coulomb problem in the framework of off-shell electrodynamics. As the local gauge theory of a covariant quantum mechanics with evolution paratmeter τ, off-shell electrodynamics constitutes a dynamical theory of ppacetime events, interacting through five τ-dependent pre-Maxwell potentials. We present a straightforward solution of the classical equations of motion, for a test event traversing the field induced by a “fixed” event (an event moving uniformly along the time axis at a fixed point in space). This solution is seen to be unsatisfactory, and reveals the essential difficulties in the formalism at the classical levels. We then offer a new model of the particle current—as a certain distribution of the event currents on the worldline—which eliminates these difficulties and permits comparison of classisical off-shell electrodynamics with the standard Maxwell theory. In this model, the “fixed” event induces a Yukawa-type potential, permitting a semiclassical identification of the pre-Maxwell time scale λ with the inverse mass of the intervening photon. Numerical solutions to the equations of motion are compared with the standard Maxwell solutions, and are seen to coincide when λ≳10⁻⁶ seconds, providing an initial estimate of this parameter. It is also demonstrated that the proposed model provides a natural interpretation for the photon mass cut-off required for the renormalizability of the off-shell quantum electrodynamics.     

Classical Canonical General Coordinate and Gauge Symmetries

Classical generators of one-dimensional reparametrization, and higher dimensional diffeomorphism symmetries are displayed for the relativistic free particle, relativistic particles in interaction, and general relativity in both Lagrangian and Hamiltonian frameworks. Projectability of these symmetries under the Legendre map is achieved only with dynamical variable-dependent transformations. When gauge symmetries are included, as in Einstein-Yang-Mills and a new reparametrization covariant pre-Maxwell model, pure coordinate symmetries are not projectable. They must be accompanied by internal gauge transformations.     

Slow motion approximations in general relativity II. Gauge transformations

When the field equations of general relativity are expanded in powers of a small parameter, the general covariance of the exact theory implies a corresponding gauge invariance of the equations obtained in the expansion. In a slow motion expansion, the derivation of this gauge transformation is complicated by the fact that the time coordinate is singled out for special treatment. In a previous paper, a new (3 + 1)-dimensional decomposition of the field equations was obtained which is particularly suitable as a starting point for slow motion approximations. The present paper gives a systematic method, again using covariant techniques throughout, for obtaining the corresponding gauge transformations to arbitrarily high accuracy. The calculations are explicitly carried out as far as is required in the 2 1/2-post-Newtonian approximation.     

Anomalous Diffusion Equations with Multiplicative Acceleration

A generalization of the model of Lévy walks with traps is considered. The main difference between the model under consideration and the already existing models is the introduction of multiplicative particle acceleration at collisions. The introduction of acceleration transfers the consideration of walks to coordinate–momentum phase space, which allows both the spatial distribution of particles and their spectrum to be obtained. The kinetic equations in coordinate–momentum phase space have been derived for the case of walks with two possible states. This system of equations in a special case is shown to be reduced to ordinary Lévy walks. This system of kinetic equations admits of integration over the spatial variable, which transfers the consideration only to momentum space and allows the spectrum to be calculated. An exact solution of the kinetic equations can be obtained in terms of the Laplace–Mellin transform. The inverse transform can be performed only for the asymptotic solutions. The calculated spectra are compared with the results of Monte Carlo simulations, which confirm the validity of the derived asymptotics.     

DERIVATION OF THE LEHNERT FIELD EQUATIONS FROM GAUGE THEORY IN VACUUM: SPACE CHARGE AND CURRENT

It is shown that the Lehnert field equations in vacuum, with concomitant space charge and current, can be derived straightforwardly from standard gauge theory applied in vacuum, using the concept of covariant derivative and Feynman's universal influence. The Lehnert and Proca field equations are shown to be inter-related through the well-known de Broglie theorem, in which the photon mass can be interpreted as finite. These ideas go some way towards addressing the inconsistency inherent in Maxwell's famous displacement current, which has no concomitant vacuum space charge.     

Solution of Hartree-Fock equations in coordinate space for axially symmetric nuclei

As an alternative to the conventional deformed harmonic oscillator basis expansion, a method is developed in which the coupled integro-differential Hartree-Fock equations are solved directly in coordinate space for a simple effective interaction. The single particle wave functions are obtained on a finite mesh by minimizing a discretized energy functional and solving the resulting finite difference equations using the Lanczos algorithm. Expressions to correct the total energy to second order in the mesh spacing are derived, and the accuracy of the method is demonstrated by numerical comparison with spherical results. Applications and advantages of this new technique are briefly discussed.