Einstein-aether theory with a Maxwell field: General formalism

We extend the Einstein-aether theory to include the Maxwell field in a nontrivial manner by taking into account its interaction with the time-like unit vector field characterizing the aether. We also include a generic matter term. We present a model with a Lagrangian that includes cross-terms linear and quadratic in the Maxwell tensor, linear and quadratic in the covariant derivative of the aether velocity four-vector, linear in its second covariant derivative and in the Riemann tensor. We decompose these terms with respect to the irreducible parts of the covariant derivative of the aether velocity, namely, the acceleration four-vector, the shear and vorticity tensors, and the expansion scalar. Furthermore, we discuss the influence of an aether non-uniform motion on the polarization and magnetization of the matter in such an aether environment, as well as on its dielectric and magnetic properties. The total self-consistent system of equations for the electromagnetic and the gravitational fields, and the dynamic equations for the unit vector aether field are obtained. Possible applications of this system are discussed. Based on the principles of effective field theories, we display in an appendix all the terms up to fourth order in derivative operators that can be considered in a Lagrangian that includes the metric, the electromagnetic and the aether fields.     

Slightly Bimetric Gravitation

The inclusion of a flat metric tensor in gravitation permits the formulation of a gravitational stress-energy tensor and the formal derivation of general relativity from a linear theory in flat spacetime. Building on the works of Kraichnan and Deser, we present such a derivation using universal coupling and gauge invariance.Next we slightly weaken the assumptions of universal coupling and gauge invariance, obtaining a larger "slightly bimetric" class of theories, in which the Euler-Lagrange equations depend only on a curved metric, matter fields, and the determinant of the flat metric. The theories are equivalent to generally covariant theories with an arbitrary cosmological constant and an arbitrarily coupled scalar field, which can serve as an inflaton or dark matter.The question of the consistency of the null cone structures of the two metrics is addressed.     

The generalized Einstein-Maxwell theory of gravitation

A new Lagrangian theory of gravitation in which the metric and the arbitrary affine connection are regarded as independent field variables has been considered. Making use of the pure geometrical objects only from the variational principle the empty field equations are derived. It is shown that the metric obeys the ordinary Einstein equations of general relativity. However, the covariant derivative of the metric tensor does not vanish, so that the vector's length is generally nonintegrable under the parallel displacement. The torsion trace vector turns out to be the natural dynamical variable, satisfying the Maxwell-like equations with tensor of homothetic curvature as the Maxwell tensor. The equations of motion are explored; they are shown to be identical to the motion of electric charge under the Lorentz force. The conservation laws are discussed.     

Covariant stringlike dynamics of scroll wave filaments in anisotropic cardiac tissue

It has been hypothesized that stationary scroll wave filaments in cardiac tissue describe a geodesic in a curved space whose metric is the inverse diffusion tensor. Several numerical studies support this hypothesis, but no analytical proof has been provided yet for general anisotropy. In this Letter, we derive dynamic equations for the filament in the case of general anisotropy. These equations are covariant under general spatial coordinate transformations and describe the motion of a stringlike object in a curved space whose metric tensor is the inverse diffusion tensor. Therefore the behavior of scroll wave filaments in excitable media with anisotropy is similar to the one of cosmic strings in a curved universe. Our dynamic equations are valid for thin filaments and for general anisotropy. We show that stationary filaments obey the geodesic equation.     

A geometric theory for scroll wave filaments in anisotropic excitable media

Scroll waves are an important example of self-organisation in excitable media. In cardiac tissue, scroll waves of electrical activity underlie lethal ventricular arrhythmias and fibrillation. They rotate around a topological line defect which has been termed the filament. Numerical investigation has shown that anisotropy can substantially affect the dynamics of scroll waves. It has recently been hypothesised that stationary scroll wave filaments in cardiac tissue describe geodesics in a space whose metric is the inverse diffusion tensor. Several computational studies have validated this hypothesis, but until now no quantitative theory has been provided to study the effects of anisotropy on scroll wave filaments. Here, we review in detail the recently developed covariant formalism for scroll wave dynamics in general anisotropy and derive the equations of motion of filaments. These equations are fully covariant under general spatial coordinate transformations and describe the motion of filaments in a curved space whose metric tensor is the inverse diffusion tensor. Our dynamic equations are valid for thin filaments and for general anisotropy and we show that stationary filaments obey the geodesic equation. We extend previous work by allowing spatial variations in the determinant of the diffusion tensor and the reaction parameters, leading to drift of the filament.     

An extended rational thermodynamics model for surface excess fluxes

In this paper, we derive constitutive equations for the surface excess fluxes in multiphase systems, in the context of an extended rational thermodynamics formalism. This formalism allows us to derive Maxwell-Cattaneo type constitutive laws for the surface extra stress tensor, the surface thermal energy flux vector, and the surface mass flux vector, which incorporate a direct coupling to their corresponding bulk fluxes in the adjacent bulk phases. These constitutive laws also incorporate contributions to the time evolution of the surface excess fluxes from spatial inhomogeneities in these flux fields. These phenomenological equations can be used to model the dynamic behavior of complex viscoelastic interfaces in multiphase systems, in the small deformation limit.     

On the exponential of the 2-forms in relativity

A study of intrinsic properties of proper Lorentz tensors (tensor fields defining proper Lorentz transformations at every point of space-time) is made, giving rise to their covariant decompositions. The exponential series for a generic 2-form is covariantly summed, and the resulting proper Lorentz tensor is expressed as a linear combination of the metric tensor, the 2-form, its dual and its energy tensor. Some covariant expressions for the 2-form corresponding to the logarithmic branches of a proper Lorentz tensor are given. Some properties of the Lorentz group are easily found, concerning the surjectivity, local injectivity and local inversibility of the exponential map.     

Covariant electrodynamics in a medium,II

The energy-momentum and angular momentum emission rates for an arbitrarily moving charge (whose speed is less than that of light in the medium) in a uniform transparent medium are calculated in manifestly covariant form. The calculations are executed for three types of stress tensor: Minkowski, Abraham, and Marx. Among other things it is found that the energy-momentum emission rates for the latter two tensors are equal and differ from that of the former. Further, the angular momentum emission rates for all three tensors are found to be equal. Only for the Marx tensor is this rate independent of the orientation of the associated asymptotic space-like surface.     

Boundary states at reflective moving boundaries

We derive and evaluate boundary states for Maxwell’s equations, the linear, and the nonlinear Euler gas-dynamics equations to compute wave reflection from moving boundaries. In this study we use a Discontinuous Galerkin Spectral Element method (DGSEM) with Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) mapping for the spatial approximation, but the boundary states can be used with other methods, like finite volume schemes. We present four studies using Maxwell’s equations, one for the linear Euler equations, and one more for the nonlinear Euler equations. These are: reflection of light from a plane mirror moving at constant velocity, reflection of light from a moving cylinder, reflection of light from a vibrating mirror, reflection of sound from a plane wall and dipole sound generation by an oscillating cylinder in an inviscid flow. The studies show that the boundary states preserve spectral convergence in the solution and in derived quantities like divergence and vorticity.     

Dynamic field theory and equations of motion in cosmology

We discuss a field-theoretical approach based on general-relativistic variational principle to derive the covariant field equations and hydrodynamic equations of motion of baryonic matter governed by cosmological perturbations of dark matter and dark energy. The action depends on the gravitational and matter Lagrangian. The gravitational Lagrangian depends on the metric tensor and its first and second derivatives. The matter Lagrangian includes dark matter, dark energy and the ordinary baryonic matter which plays the role of a bare perturbation. The total Lagrangian is expanded in an asymptotic Taylor series around the background cosmological manifold defined as a solution of Einstein’s equations in the form of the Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker (FLRW) metric tensor. The small parameter of the decomposition is the magnitude of the metric tensor perturbation. Each term of the series expansion is gauge-invariant and all of them together form a basis for the successive post-Friedmannian approximations around the background metric. The approximation scheme is covariant and the asymptotic nature of the Lagrangian decomposition does not require the post-Friedmannian perturbations to be small though computationally it works the most effectively when the perturbed metric is close enough to the background FLRW metric. The temporal evolution of the background metric is governed by dark matter and dark energy and we associate the large scale inhomogeneities in these two components as those generated by the primordial cosmological perturbations with an effective matter density contrast δρ/ρ≤1$\delta \rho /\rho \le 1$. The small scale inhomogeneities are generated by the condensations of baryonic matter considered as the bare perturbations of the background manifold that admits δρ/ρ?1$\delta \rho /\rho ?1$. Mathematically, the large scale perturbations are given by the homogeneous solution of the linearized field equations while the small scale perturbations are described by a particular solution of these equations with the bare stress–energy tensor of the baryonic matter. We explicitly work out the covariant field equations of the successive post-Friedmannian approximations of Einstein’s equations in cosmology and derive equations of motion of large and small scale inhomogeneities of dark matter and dark energy. We apply these equations to derive the post-Friedmannian equations of motion of baryonic matter comprising stars, galaxies and their clusters.     

Gravitational theory based on relativistic mechanics

Introducing a metric space, we propose a gravitational theory in which the form of the basic equations of mechanics, the field equations, and the equations of motion are the same as that of the corresponding equations in electrodynamics. The theory reveals a very close relation between the gravitational and electromagnetic fields. Finally, we consider the field due to an arbitrarily moving mass point.     

A canonical relativistic approach to quantize electromagnetic field in the presence of moving magneto-dielectric media

A canonical relativistic formulation is introduced to quantize electromagnetic field in the presence of a polarizable and magnetizable moving medium. The medium is modeled by a continuum of the second rank antisymmetric tensors in a phenomenological way. The covariant wave equation for the vector potential and the covariant constitutive equation of the medium are obtained as the Euler-Lagrange equations using the Lagrangian of the total system. A fourth rank tensor which couples the electromagnetic field and the medium is introduced. The susceptibility tensor of the medium is obtained in terms of this coupling tensor. The noise polarization tensor is calculated in terms of both the coupling tensor and the ladder operators of the tensors modeling the medium.     

On the non-uniform motion of dislocations: the retarded elastic fields,the retarded dislocation tensor potentials and the Liénard–Wiechert tensor potentials

The topic of this paper is the fundamental theory of the non-uniform motion of dislocations in two and three space dimensions. We investigate the non-uniform motion of an arbitrary distribution of dislocations, a dislocation loop and straight dislocations in infinite media using the theory of incompatible elastodynamics. The equations of motion are derived for non-uniformly moving dislocations. The retarded elastic fields produced by a distribution of dislocations and the retarded dislocation tensor potentials are determined. New fundamental key formulae for the dynamics of dislocations are derived (Jefimenko type and Heaviside–Feynman type equations of dislocations). In addition, exact closed-form solutions of the elastic fields produced by a dislocation loop are calculated as retarded line integral expressions for subsonic motion. The fields of the elastic velocity and elastic distortion surrounding the arbitrarily moving dislocation loop are given explicitly in terms of the so-called three-dimensional elastodynamic Liénard–Wiechert tensor potentials. The two-dimensional elastodynamic Liénard–Wiechert tensor potentials and the near-field approximation of the elastic fields for straight dislocations are calculated. The singularities of the near-fields of accelerating screw and edge dislocations are determined.     

Torsion and related concepts: An introductory overview

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of all the basic aspects of the torsion of a manifold, with particular stress on the expressions in an anholonomic basis. After a brief review of anholonomic bases and Koszul covariant derivative, we show how the expressions for the torsion and the Riemann tensors in a general (anholonomic) basis arise from their expressions in a coordinate basis. We further derive the expression for the contortion tensor, which arises from the requirement that an affine connection with torsion be metric (preserving). The latter requirement is related to the equivalence principle, whose mathematical aspects in a manifold with torsion are discussed next. Finally, we derive the expression for the distortion tensor, which is an analog of the curvature tensor but arising from the torsion rather than the metric tensor.     

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.     

On the permanence of the null character of Maxwell fields

A critical review of known results about the permanence conditions for the null character of the solutions to the (vacuum) Maxwell equations, is presented. Concomitants of the electromagnetic field and the metric tensor are constructed, which give the principal directions of the field in covariant form. The known permanence conditions are generalized in order to includeall the (local) null fields; the above concomitants allow these conditions to be explicitly formulated in terms of the electromagnetic field.Supported in part by Conselleria de Cultura, Educació i Ciència de la Generalitat Valenciana.     

High-order FDTD methods for transverse electromagnetic systems in dispersive inhomogeneous media

This Letter introduces a novel finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) formulation for solving transverse electromagnetic systems in dispersive media. Based on the auxiliary differential equation approach, the Debye dispersion model is coupled with Maxwell's equations to derive a supplementary ordinary differential equation for describing the regularity changes in electromagnetic fields at the dispersive interface. The resulting time-dependent jump conditions are rigorously enforced in the FDTD discretization by means of the matched interface and boundary scheme. High-order convergences are numerically achieved for the first time in the literature in the FDTD simulations of dispersive inhomogeneous media.     

Asymptotic analysis of ultra-relativistic charge

This article offers a new approach for analysing the dynamic behaviour of distributions of charged particles in an electromagnetic field. After discussing the limitations inherent in the Lorentz-Dirac equation for a single point particle a simple model is proposed for a charged continuum interacting self-consistently with the Maxwell field in vacuo. The model is developed using intrinsic tensor field theory and exploits to the full the symmetry and light-cone structure of Minkowski spacetime. This permits the construction of a regular stress-energy tensor whose vanishing divergence determines a system of non-linear partial differential equations for the velocity and self-fields of accelerated charge. Within this covariant framework a particular perturbation scheme is motivated by an exact class of solutions to this system describing the evolution of a charged fluid under the combined effects of both self and external electromagnetic fields. The scheme yields an asymptotic approximation in terms of inhomogeneous linear equations for the self-consistent Maxwell field, charge current and time-like velocity field of the charged fluid and is defined as an ultra-relativistic configuration. To facilitate comparisons with existing accounts of beam dynamics an appendix translates the tensor formulation of the perturbation scheme into the language involving electric and magnetic fields observed in a laboratory (inertial) frame.     

Axisymmetric convection flow of fractional Maxwell fluid past a vertical cylinder with velocity slip and temperature jump

A novel finite volume method is developed to investigate the axisymmetric convection flow and heat transfer of fractional viscoelastic fluid past a vertical cylinder. Fractional cylindrical governing equations are formulated by fractional Maxwell model and generalized Fourier's law. The velocity slip and temperature jump boundary conditions are considered across the fluid-solid interface. Numerical results are validated by exact solutions of special case with source terms. The effects of fractional derivative parameter and boundary condition parameters on flow and heat transfer characteristics are discussed. The viscoelastic fluid performs evident shear thickening property in the fractional Maxwell constitutive relation. Moreover, the boundary condition parameters have remarkable influence on velocity and temperature distributions.     

ADM pseudotensors,conserved quantities and covariant conservation laws in general relativity

The ADM formalism is reviewed and techniques for decomposing generic components of metric, connection and curvature are obtained. These techniques will turn out to be enough to decompose not only Einstein equations but also covariant conservation laws. Then a number of independent sets of hypotheses that are sufficient (though not necessary) to obtain standard ADM quantities (and Hamiltonian) from covariant conservation laws are considered. This determines explicitly the range in which standard techniques are equivalent to covariant conserved quantities.The Schwarzschild metric in different coordinates is then considered, showing how the standard ADM quantities fail dramatically in non-Cartesian coordinates or even worse when asymptotically flatness is not manifest; while, in view of their covariance, covariant conservation laws give the correct result in all cases.