The discussion revolves around the concept of 'many-fingered time' as introduced by John Archibald Wheeler, particularly in the context of black hole geometry and its applicability to curved spacetime in general. Participants seek to clarify the meaning and implications of this notion.
Participants express varying interpretations of 'many-fingered time,' with some focusing on its implications in black hole geometry while others emphasize its broader applicability in curved spacetime. The discussion does not reach a consensus on a singular interpretation.
There are unresolved aspects regarding the implications of 'many-fingered time' in different contexts and its relationship to quantum state evolution, as well as the assumptions underlying the interpretations presented.
The 'many-fingered time' is the formalism in which a different time variable is associated with each point in space, or with each physical degree of freedom. It is applicable to any flat or curved spacetime. It is particularly useful when one wants the time-evolution of a quantum state make compatible with relativistic covariance.bookworm006 said:While studying slicing of black hole geometry, I find this notion of wheeler's 'many-fingered time' which permits non-uniform evolution of spacelike slices that foliate the black hole. Could someone please explain what this notion exactly means? Is such a notion applicable only for black hole geometry or for any curved spacetime?