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paweld
May7-10, 06:11 AM
Is it possible to define unambiguously retarded and advanced Green's function
in spacetime without timelike Killing vector. Most often e.g. retarded Green
function G_R(t,\vec{x},t',\vec{x}') is defined to be 0 unless t'<t
but maybe one can express this condition using only casual structure
(without time coordinate)?

Stingray
May8-10, 12:43 PM
Is it possible to define unambiguously retarded and advanced Green's function
in spacetime without timelike Killing vector. Most often e.g. retarded Green
function G_R(t,\vec{x},t',\vec{x}') is defined to be 0 unless t'<t
but maybe one can express this condition using only casual structure
(without time coordinate)?

Yes, this can be done using the causal structure. You don't need a Killing vector to decide if two points are in the past or future of each other (or are spacelike-separated). A good practical introduction to Green's functions in curved spacetimes may be found in http://relativity.livingreviews.org/Articles/lrr-2004-6/.