Transformation from cartesian to cylindrical coordinates

Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the transformation from Cartesian to cylindrical coordinates in the context of Godel's 1949 paper on Closed Time-like Curves (CTCs). The original poster is attempting to confirm a specific transformation using Maple but is encountering difficulties with the resulting expressions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster details their attempts to differentiate equations related to the transformation and expresses confusion over the simplification process in Maple. Some participants question the correctness of the differentiation, particularly focusing on the expression for ##dx_0##.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging with the original poster's work, with one suggesting that the issue may lie specifically with the differentiation of ##dx_0##. There is an ongoing exploration of potential errors in the substitutions and differentiation steps, but no consensus has been reached on a solution.

Contextual Notes

The original poster's work involves complex mathematical expressions and substitutions, and there is an indication that assumptions about the variables may be affecting the results. The nature of the problem suggests that clarity on these assumptions is necessary for further progress.

Otacon23
Messages
3
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement



I'm trying to get to grips with Godel's 1949 Paper on Closed Time-like Curves (CTCs). Currently I'm trying to confirm his transformation to cylindrical coordinates using maple but seem to keep getting the wrong answer.

Homework Equations



The line element in cartesian coordinates is: ##dS^2 = a^2[dx_0^2-dx_1^2+\frac{1}{2}##e##2x_1####dx_2^2-dx_3^2+2##e##x_1####dx_0dx_2]## using the following substitutions:
##e####x_1#### = \cosh(2r) + \cos(\phi)\sinh(2r)##
##x_2e####x_1####= \sqrt{2}\sin(\phi)sinh(2r)##
##\tan(\frac{\phi}{2} + \frac{x_0 - 2t}{2\sqrt{2}}) = e####2r####\tan(\frac{\phi}{2})##
##x_3 = 2y##
I need to show that the line element is ##dS^2 = 4a^2[dt^2 -dr^2 -dy^2 + (\sinh^4(r) - \sinh^2(r))d\phi^2 + 2\sqrt{2}\sinh^2(r)d\phi dt]##

The Attempt at a Solution



I started by differentiating these four equations to obtain expressions for ##dx_0, dx_1, dx_2, dx_3##

## dx_0 = 2e####-2r####\sqrt{2}cos^2(\frac{\phi}{2} + \frac{x_0 - 2t}{2\sqrt{2}})(\frac{1}{2}\sec^2(\frac{\phi}{2})d\phi - 2\tan(\frac{\phi}{2})dr) + 2dt - \sqrt{2}d\phi##

##dx_1 =2e####-x_1####(sinh(2r) + cos(\phi)cosh(2r))dr - e####-x_1####sin(\phi)sinh(2r)d\phi##

##dx_2 = e####-x_1####sinh(2r)(\sqrt{2}cos(\phi) +x_2\sin(\phi))d\phi + 2e####-x_1####(\sqrt{2}sin(\phi)\cosh(2r)-x_2\sinh(2r)-cos(\phi)\cosh(2r))dr##

##dx_3 = 2dy##

In maple I then defined the variable 'X' to be
##X := a^2[dx_0^2-dx_1^2+\frac{1}{2}##e##2x_1####dx_2^2-dx_3^2+2##e##x_1####dx_0dx_2] - 4a^2[dt^2 -dr^2 -dy^2 + (\sinh^4(r) - \sinh^2(r))d\phi^2 + 2\sqrt{2}\sinh^2(r)d\phi dt];##

Then defined 'XX' to be
##XX:=(subs(dx_0 = ..., dx_1 = ..., dx_2 = ..., dx_3 = ..., X));##
Then simplified the result hoping it to be zero.
##simplify(XX);##
Instead of zero I receive 4 pages or so of trash, so basically can anyone point out where or how I have gone askew?

Many thanks!
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I tried letting all the variables equal to a random constant and managed to get ##'XX'## to equal 0. It seems that I get a non-zero value of ##'XX'## whenever I let any of ##t, r, \phi## remain a variable and not a constant, which leads me to believe that my substitution and hence my differentiation is incorrect. If anyone has the time to double check any of my differentiations I would really appreciate it!
Maths Love xx
 
Narrowed it down to there just being a problem with ##dx_0##
Anyone care to look?
 
Otacon23 said:
## dx_0 = 2e####-2r####\sqrt{2}cos^2(\frac{\phi}{2} + \frac{x_0 - 2t}{2\sqrt{2}})(\frac{1}{2}\sec^2(\frac{\phi}{2})d\phi - 2\tan(\frac{\phi}{2})dr) + 2dt - \sqrt{2}d\phi##
You have an x0 on the RHS side there. Assuming you want rid of that, I get
## dx_0 = 2dt - \sqrt{2}d\phi + \sqrt{2}\frac{2 sin(\phi)dr+d\phi}{e^{-2r}cos^2(\phi/2)+e^{2r}sin^2(\phi/2))} ##
The denominator could also be written ## cosh(2r) - sinh(2r)cos(\phi) ##
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
3K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
  • · Replies 18 ·
Replies
18
Views
3K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K
Replies
3
Views
2K