Would two dimensions be world enough for spacetime? |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Philosophy, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, United States;2. Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science, University of California, Irvine, United States;1. Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands;2. Vossius Center for the History of Humanities and Sciences, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands;3. Trinity College, Cambridge, United Kingdom;4. Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom;5. Black Hole Initiative, Harvard University, United States;1. Institut für theoretische Physik, Philosophenweg 16, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany;2. Korea Institute for Advanced Study, 85 Hoegiro, Seoul 130-722, Republic of Korea;3. Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore, 2 Science Drive 3, 117542, Singapore;4. School of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Technical University of Crete, Chania, Crete, 73100, Greece;1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bonn, Nussallee 12, 53115, Bonn, Germany;2. Department of Philosophy, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA |
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| Abstract: | We consider various curious features of general relativity, and relativistic field theory, in two spacetime dimensions. In particular, we discuss: the vanishing of the Einstein tensor; the failure of an initial-value formulation for vacuum spacetimes; the status of singularity theorems; the non-existence of a Newtonian limit; the status of the cosmological constant; and the character of matter fields, including perfect fluids and electromagnetic fields. We conclude with a discussion of what constrains our understanding of physics in different dimensions. |
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