Exploring Spacetime Propagation in Higher-Dimensional Relativity

[bluecap]

What kind of spacetime structure can make the lines of a soliton-like field propagate in higher-dimensional space-time that do not diverge as they converge on the target. Does General Relativity make this just completely impossible? Or is there a solution of General Relativity that allows this? Would there be backward in time causality violations?

 

[PeterDonis]

Do you have a reference for the "soliton-like field" you are talking about?

Also, I'm extremely doubtful that this question can be answered at a "B" level. What background do you have in relativity?

 

[bluecap]

Do you have a reference for the "soliton-like field" you are talking about?

Also, I'm extremely doubtful that this question can be answered at a "B" level. What background do you have in relativity?

Here http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/hep-ph/9904218. I have good background owning more than 8 books on General Relativity. Is the paper talking about soliton that travels at light speed or faster than light? Because if faster than light.. I know there would be frames in which it would appear to travel backward in time. Or if it less or just light spead. Is it talking about 5 dimensional spacetime? I know Einstein GR can be made to function in more than 4 spacetime coordinates. I just want some comments on signal propagation in more than 4d spacetime.. any papers along this line would be appreciated.

 

[PeterDonis]

Here http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/hep-ph/9904218.

As I suspected, this is an "A" level reference and is not suitable for a "B" level thread. I have changed the level of this thread to "A".

I have good background owning more than 8 books on General Relativity.

How many of them are graduate level textbooks? That's the background you need to be able to understand what the paper you linked to is talking about. You don't appear to have that level of background from your posts so far.

Not only that, but just a background in GR is not enough; you also need a graduate level background in quantum field theory in curved spacetime.

I'll try to respond to your questions as best I can, but I would strongly suggest taking the time to work through graduate level textbooks in both subjects (GR and QFT) before tackling this kind of paper. It's simply not written for a person who is not already an expert in the field.

Is the paper talking about soliton that travels at light speed or faster than light?

No. The "soliton" in this paper is not a particle; it's a particular configuration of a quantum field in curved spacetime in which particles can propagate in the model the paper is considering.

Is it talking about 5 dimensional spacetime?

At least one example theory given in the paper is; but I don't think the paper's general argument is limited to 5-D spacetime.

I just want some comments on signal propagation in more than 4d spacetime.. any papers along this line would be appreciated.

Once again, I would strongly recommend taking the time to work through graduate level textbooks on GR and QFT first. Any other papers in this area are going to require that level of background anyway.