Skip to main content

From Singularities of Fields to Equations of Particles Motion

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Equations of Motion in Relativistic Gravity

Part of the book series: Fundamental Theories of Physics ((FTPH,volume 179))

  • 1999 Accesses

Abstract

Due to the well known Einstein’s proposition, the non-linearity of the GR field equations allows to derive, from the singularities of the field, the geodesic principle i.e., the equations of motion of massive pointwise particles. In this paper, we illustrate how this construction can be realized explicitly in a simple case of a non-linear scalar field model. For a field singular at one point (a timelike curve in 4D description), we derive the inertial motion law. For a field with two singularities (two disjoint timelike curves), we obtain, in the lowest approximation, the second law of non-relativistic dynamics together with the proper expression of Newton’s law of attraction. The ordinary used method in such type of derivation is the integration over a tube near the singular line. Instead, we are working with the singular terms themselves. We compare the terms of the field equation that have the same order of divergence. The dynamical equation is derived as the relation between the coefficients of two leading singular terms—the agent of inertia and the agent of interaction.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. A. Einstein, J. Grommer, Sitzber. Deut. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 2, (1927)

    Google Scholar 

  2. A. Einstein, L. Infeld, B. Hoffmann, Ann. Math. 39, 65 (1938)

    Article  ADS  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  3. A. Einstein, L. Infeld, Ann. Math. 41, 455 (1940)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  4. L. Infeld, P.R. Wallace, Phys. Rev. 57, 797 (1940)

    Article  ADS  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  5. A. Einstein, L. Infeld, Can. J. Math. 1, 209 (1949)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. L. Infeld, A. Schild, Rev. Mod. Phys. 21, 408 (1949)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. L. Infeld, Rev. Mod. Phys. 29, 398 (1957)

    Article  ADS  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  8. B. Fock, JETP 9, 375 (1939)

    Google Scholar 

  9. A. Papapetrou, Proc. Phys. Soc. (London) 209, 248 (1951)

    ADS  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  10. P. Havas, J.N. Goldberg, Phys. Rev. 128, 398 (1962)

    Article  ADS  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  11. M. Carmeli, Phys. Lett. 9, 132 (1964)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. T. Damour, N. Deruelle, Ann. Inst. H. Poincare 44, 263 (1986)

    Google Scholar 

  13. T. Damour, in Proceedings of Conference 300 Years of Gravity, (Cambridge, England, 1987)

    Google Scholar 

  14. L. Blanchet, G. Faye, B. Ponsot, Phys. Rev. D 58, 124002 (1998)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. J.L. Anderson, Phys. Rev. D 36, 2301 (1987)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. L.I. Schiff, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 46, 871 (1960)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. R. Geroch, P.S. Jang, J. Math. Phys. 16, 65 (1975)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. J. Ehlers, R. Geroch, Ann. Phys. 309, 232 (2004)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. J. Souriau, Ann. Inst. H. Poincare 20, 315 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  20. S. Sternberg, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96, 8845 (1999)

    Article  ADS  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  21. M. Tamir, Stud. Hist. Philos. Mod. Phys. 43, 137 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. S. Kaniel, Y. Itin, Ann.der. Phys. 15, 877 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. K. Watt, C.W. Misner, gr-qc/9910032, (1999)

  24. D. Giulini, gr-qc/0611100, (2006)

Download references

Acknowledgments

I thank Claus Lämmerzahl and Dirk Pützfeld for an invitation to the 524. WE-Heraeus-Seminar on “Equations of Motion in Relativistic Gravity”. I acknowledge support of the German-Israeli Research Foundation (GIF) by the grant GIF/No.1078-107.14/2009.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Y. Itin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Itin, Y. (2015). From Singularities of Fields to Equations of Particles Motion . In: Puetzfeld, D., Lämmerzahl, C., Schutz, B. (eds) Equations of Motion in Relativistic Gravity. Fundamental Theories of Physics, vol 179. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18335-0_9

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics