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The foundations of a generalization of gravitation theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2008

John Moffat
Affiliation:
Trinity CollegeCambridge

Extract

1. Introduction. Among the more notable attempts to derive a generalization of Einstein's gravitational theory is the recent one of Einstein and Schrodinger ((1)–(8)). This was formulated by dropping the symmetry of the fundamental tensor gμν and the components of the affine connexion. The most serious defect of these non-symmetric theories is that the field equations, in their original form, do not determine the motion of electrically charged particles in an electromagnetic field, as has been proved by Infeld(9), Callaway (10) and Bonnor (n). Together with the lack of an energy-momentum tensor and a geometric description of the paths of charged particles, this seems to indicate that the concept of motion is missing in this type of theory. It is clear that one of the most important results which should follow from a generalization of Einstein's gravitational theory is the correct equations of motion of charged particles in an electromagnetic field.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge Philosophical Society 1957

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References

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