The issue of whether teleparallel nonlinear connections exist is resolved by their explicit construction on Finslerian metrics that arise in the Robertson test theory of special relativity (RTTSR), and on the Minkowski metric in particular. The method is an adaptation to the Finsler bundle of a similar construction for teleparallel linear connections. It suggests the existence of a concept of metric compatibility alternative toω μλ +ω λμ = 0 for teleparallel nonlinear connections. A sophisticated system of partial differential equations whose (...) solutions have been discussed in the computing literature is interpreted in geometric terms. The characteristics of the solutions are checked against compliance with the conditionω μλ +ω λμ = 0, an issue whose relevance for this theory derives from the fact that nonantisymmetric connections repeatedly appear in teleparallel geometry. (shrink)

This paper develops the conjecture that the electromagnetic interaction is the manifestation of the torsion Ωμ of spacetime. This conjecture is made feasible by the natural separation of the connection ω μ v into “gravitational” and “electromagnetic” parts α μ v and β μ v , respectively, related to the metric and to the torsion. When α μ v is neglected in front of β μ v , the affine geodesics are shown to become the equations of motion of charged (...) particles with Lorentz force, for an appropriate choice of Ωμ. Since β μ v contains the factor q/m, neutral particles do not see the torsional part of the connection and behave as if Ωμ were zero, i.e., as in Einstein's theory of gravity (the same effect is obviously obtained for charged particles when β μ v 《 α μ v ).In addition to the factor q/m, the velocity of the test particle appears in Ωμ. This indicates that the appropriate context for this problem is to be found in velocity-dependent connections. The velocities are now coordinates and become the actual velocities of the test particles only in the system of equations that one solves for obtaining the affine geodesics in connections of this type.When written with differential forms, the combination of Maxwell's equations and of the pertinent form of the torsion suggests geometric field equations for electrodynamics. As for the gravitational part of the connection, it can be made to obey equations similar in form to the Einstein field equations. A unified geometric theory of electrodynamics and gravitation spontaneously emerges. The present state of the theory does not yet permit us to ascertain whether the right-hand side of the fully geometric, gravitational field equations corresponds to the energy-momentum tensor. (shrink)

The kinematic aspects of the rocket-borne clock experiment by Vessot and Levine are analyzed with the revised Robertson's test theory of special relativity (Found. Phys. 14, 625 (1984)). Besides the expected time-dilation, it is found that the intermediate steps of this experiment yield in principle Michelson-Morley type information (a relation between longitudinal and transverse length contractions) in the third order of the velocities involved, but no relativity-of-simultaneity related effects.The flat space-time test theory induces a family of “spherically symmetric” line elements (...) that become the Schwarzschild line element in the relativistic case and also in theabinito rest frame of the theory. These line elements represent the same space-time manifold, but pertain in a one-to-one correspondence to the different flat space-time coordinate transformations of the test theory. The conserved energy is related to the family of local energies in the tangent plane. No deviations from the orthodoxy appear at the pertinent levels of approximation. Hence the unexplained residuals of the Vessot-Levine experiment are not due in obvious ways to kinematic and gravitational frequency shifts caused by deviations of the “real” coordinate transformations from the Lorentz transformations. (shrink)

It has recently been shown by Vargas, (4) that the passive coordinate transformations that enter the Robertson test theory of special relativity have to be considered as coordinate transformations in a seven-dimensional space with degenerate metric. It has also been shown by Vargas that the corresponding active coordinate transformations are not equal in general to the passive ones and that the composite active-passive transformations act on a space whose number of dimensions is ten (one-particle case) or larger (more than one (...) particle).In this paper, two different (families of) electrodynamics are constructed in ten-dimensional space upon the coordinate free form of the Maxwell and Lorentz equations. The two possibilities arise from the two different assumptions that one can naturally make with respect to the acceleration fields of charges, when these fields are related to their relativistic counterparts. Both theories present unattractive features, which indicates that the Maxwell-Lorentz framework is unsuitable for the construction of an electrodynamics for the Robertson test theory of the Lorentz transformations. It is argued that this construction would first require the formulation of Maxwell-Lorentz electrodynamics in the form of a connection in Finsler space. If such formulation is possible, the sought generalization would consist in simply changing bases in the tangent spaces of the manifold that supports the connection. In addition, the number of dimensions of the space of the Robertson transformations would be ten, but not greater than ten. (shrink)

The traditional approach to the covariance problem in quantum mechanics is inverted and the space-time transformations are assumed as the basicunknowns, according to the prescription that the correspondence principle and the commutation rules must becovariant. It is shown that the only solutions are either Galilean or Lorentzian (including the possibility of an imaginary light-velocity c2<0). The Dirac formalism for the wave-equation and the condition c2>0 are obtained simoultaneously as theunique solution, provided that the Hamiltonian is Hermitean (in the usual sense), (...) and the internal degrees of freedom allow for afinite-dimensional representation. Infinite-dimensional representations are introduced in order to extend the Hamiltonian formalism to other spinors. (shrink)