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Revisiting special relativity: a natural algebraic alternative to Minkowski spacetime.

ABSTRACT: Minkowski famously introduced the concept of a space-time continuum in 1908, merging the three dimensions of space with an imaginary time dimension [Formula: see text], with the unit imaginary producing the correct spacetime distance [Formula: see text], and the results of Einstein's then recently developed theory of special relativity, thus providing an explanation for Einstein's theory in terms of the structure of space and time. As an alternative to a planar Minkowski space-time of two space dimensions and one time dimension, we replace the unit imaginary [Formula: see text], with the Clifford bivector [Formula: see text] for the plane that also squares to minus one, but which can be included without the addition of an extra dimension, as it is an integral part of the real Cartesian plane with the orthonormal basis [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. We find that with this model of planar spacetime, using a two-dimensional Clifford multivector, the spacetime metric and the Lorentz transformations follow immediately as properties of the algebra. This also leads to momentum and energy being represented as components of a multivector and we give a new efficient derivation of Compton's scattering formula, and a simple formulation of Dirac's and Maxwell's equations. Based on the mathematical structure of the multivector, we produce a semi-classical model of massive particles, which can then be viewed as the origin of the Minkowski spacetime structure and thus a deeper explanation for relativistic effects. We also find a new perspective on the nature of time, which is now given a precise mathematical definition as the bivector of the plane.

SUBMITTER: Chappell JM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3534154 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Revisiting special relativity: a natural algebraic alternative to Minkowski spacetime.

Chappell James M JM Iqbal Azhar A Iannella Nicolangelo N Abbott Derek D

PloS one 20121231 12

Minkowski famously introduced the concept of a space-time continuum in 1908, merging the three dimensions of space with an imaginary time dimension [Formula: see text], with the unit imaginary producing the correct spacetime distance [Formula: see text], and the results of Einstein's then recently developed theory of special relativity, thus providing an explanation for Einstein's theory in terms of the structure of space and time. As an alternative to a planar Minkowski space-time of two space ...[more]

PMID: 23300566

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Project description:Periodic space crystals are well established and widely used in physical sciences. Time crystals have been increasingly explored more recently, where time is disconnected from space. Periodic relativistic spacetime crystals on the other hand need to account for the mixing of space and time in special relativity through Lorentz transformation, and have been listed only in 2D. This work shows that there exists a transformation between the conventional Minkowski spacetime (MS) and what is referred to here as renormalized blended spacetime (RBS); they are shown to be equivalent descriptions of relativistic physics in flat spacetime. There are two elements to this reformulation of MS, namely, blending and renormalization. When observers in two inertial frames adopt each other's clocks as their own, while retaining their original space coordinates, the observers become blended. This process reformulates the Lorentz boosts into Euclidean rotations while retaining the original spacetime hyperbola describing worldlines of constant spacetime length from the origin. By renormalizing the blended coordinates with an appropriate factor that is a function of the relative velocities between the various frames, the hyperbola is transformed into a Euclidean circle. With these two steps, one obtains the RBS coordinates complete with new light lines, but now with a Euclidean construction. One can now enumerate the RBS point and space groups in various dimensions with their mapping to the well known space crystal groups. The RBS point group for flat isotropic RBS spacetime is identified to be that of cylinders in various dimensions: mm2 which is that of a rectangle in 2D, (∞/m)m which is that of a cylinder in 3D, and that of a hypercylinder in 4D. An antisymmetry operation is introduced that can swap between space-like and time-like directions, leading to color spacetime groups. The formalism reveals RBS symmetries that are not readily apparent in the conventional MS formulation. Mathematica script is provided for plotting the MS and RBS geometries discussed in the work.

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Revisiting special relativity: a natural algebraic alternative to Minkowski spacetime.

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Revisiting special relativity: a natural algebraic alternative to Minkowski spacetime.

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