spacetime manifold

E57420

A spacetime manifold is a four-dimensional, smooth geometric framework in general relativity that models the combined fabric of space and time on which gravitational phenomena are described.


Statements (49)
Predicate Object
instanceOf differentiable manifold
geometric structure
mathematical concept
model in general relativity
allows definition of proper distance
definition of proper time
geodesic motion
canModel black hole spacetimes
cosmological spacetimes
gravitational waves
contains events
light cones
worldlines
curvatureDeterminedBy stress-energy tensor
describes curved spacetime
gravitational phenomena
formalizedBy differential geometry
tensor calculus
generalizes Minkowski spacetime
hasComponent space
time
hasCoordinateSystem spacetime coordinates
hasCurvature spacetime curvature
hasDimension 4
hasLocalProperty locally Minkowskian
locally flat in small neighborhoods
hasMetricSignature (+,-,-,-)
(-,+,+,+)
Lorentzian signature
hasProperty differentiable
smooth
hasStructure Lorentzian metric
causal structure
differentiable structure
topological structure
hasSubset null curves
spacelike hypersurfaces
timelike curves
hasTopology four-dimensional manifold topology
introducedInContextOf Einstein's theory of general relativity
obeys Einstein field equations
relatedTo Lorentzian manifold
Riemannian manifold
requires compatibility of charts
smooth atlas of coordinate charts
usedFor describing motion of particles
describing propagation of light
modeling gravitational fields
usedInTheory general relativity

Referenced by (1)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Einstein tensor
definedOn

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