# Minkowski space

In theoretical physics, Minkowski space is often contrasted with Euclidean space. While a Euclidean space has only spacelike dimensions, a Minkowski space also has one timelike dimension. The isometry group of a Euclidean space is the Euclidean group and for a Minkowski space it is the Poincaré group. History In 1905 (published 1906) it was noted by Henri Poincaré that, by taking time to be the imaginary part of the fourth spacetime coordinate √−1 ct, a Lorentz transformation can be regarded as a rotation of coordinates in a four-dimensional Euclidean space with three real coordinates representing space, and one imaginary coordinate, representing time, as the fourth dimension. The views of space and time which I wish to lay before you have sprung from the soil of experimental physics, and therein lies their strength. For further historical information see references Galison (1979), Corry (1997), Walter (1999). Structure The Minkowski inner product Standard basis where

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Hilbert space The state of a vibrating string can be modeled as a point in a Hilbert space. The decomposition of a vibrating string into its vibrations in distinct overtones is given by the projection of the point onto the coordinate axes in the space. Hilbert spaces arise naturally and frequently in mathematics and physics, typically as infinite-dimensional function spaces.

Lorentz group The mathematical form of Basic properties The Lorentz group is a subgroup of the Poincaré group, the group of all isometries of Minkowski spacetime. Spacetime symmetries Spacetime symmetries are features of spacetime that can be described as exhibiting some form of symmetry. The role of symmetry in physics is important in simplifying solutions to many problems, spacetime symmetries finding ample application in the study of exact solutions of Einstein's field equations of general relativity. Physical motivation Physical problems are often investigated and solved by noticing features which have some form of symmetry. For example, in the Schwarzschild solution, the role of spherical symmetry is important in deriving the Schwarzschild solution and deducing the physical consequences of this symmetry (such as the non-existence of gravitational radiation in a spherically pulsating star).

Pascal's law Pascal's law or the principle of transmission of fluid-pressure is a principle in fluid mechanics that states that pressure exerted anywhere in a confined incompressible fluid is transmitted equally in all directions throughout the fluid such that the pressure variations (initial differences) remain the same.[1] The law was established by French mathematician Blaise Pascal.[2] Definition Pressure in water and air. Pascal's law applies only for fluids. Pascal's principle is defined as A change in pressure at any point in an enclosed fluid at rest is transmitted undiminished to all points in the fluid

Causal dynamical triangulation Causal dynamical triangulation (abbreviated as CDT) invented by Renate Loll, Jan Ambjørn and Jerzy Jurkiewicz, and popularized by Fotini Markopoulou and Lee Smolin, is an approach to quantum gravity that like loop quantum gravity is background independent. This means that it does not assume any pre-existing arena (dimensional space), but rather attempts to show how the spacetime fabric itself evolves. The Loops '05 conference, hosted by many loop quantum gravity theorists, included several presentations which discussed CDT in great depth, and revealed it to be a pivotal insight for theorists. Spacetime In non-relativistic classical mechanics, the use of Euclidean space instead of spacetime is appropriate, as time is treated as universal and constant, being independent of the state of motion of an observer.[disambiguation needed] In relativistic contexts, time cannot be separated from the three dimensions of space, because the observed rate at which time passes for an object depends on the object's velocity relative to the observer and also on the strength of gravitational fields, which can slow the passage of time for an object as seen by an observer outside the field. Until the beginning of the 20th century, time was believed to be independent of motion, progressing at a fixed rate in all reference frames; however, later experiments revealed that time slows at higher speeds of the reference frame relative to another reference frame.

Euler's formula This article is about Euler's formula in complex analysis. For Euler's formula in algebraic topology and polyhedral combinatorics see Euler characteristic. Euler's formula, named after Leonhard Euler, is a mathematical formula in complex analysis that establishes the fundamental relationship between the trigonometric functions and the complex exponential function.

Induced gravity Induced gravity (or emergent gravity) is an idea in quantum gravity that space-time background emerges as a mean field approximation of underlying microscopic degrees of freedom, similar to the fluid mechanics approximation of Bose–Einstein condensates. The concept was originally proposed by Andrei Sakharov in 1967. Sakharov observed that many condensed matter systems give rise to emergent phenomena which are identical to general relativity. For example, crystal defects can look like curvature and torsion in an Einstein–Cartan spacetime. This allows one to create a theory of gravity with torsion from a World Crystal model of spacetime[1] in which the lattice spacing is of the order of a Planck length. Sakharov's idea was to start with an arbitrary background pseudo-Riemannian manifold (in modern treatments, possibly with torsion) and introduce quantum fields (matter) on it but not introduce any gravitational dynamics explicitly.

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