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Relativistic invariance

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The property that physical laws maintain their form under Lorentz transformations, which describe the transition from one inertial reference frame to another. This property of physical laws is known as Lorentz invariance. Where it is essential to emphasize that relativistic invariance includes invariance under translation in time and space, one speaks about Poincaré invariance. Lorentz invariance expresses equivalence of all inertial systems and uniformity of space-time.

In the general theory of relativity the invariance of physical laws under the transition from one local inertial reference frame to another is called local Lorentz invariance. Some branches of the general theory of relativity also examine quantities determined by giving a congruence of time lines (i.e. by defining a reference frame), and invariants relative to the choice of spatial sections. These quantities are called chronometric invariants.


References

[1] V.A. Fok, "Einstein's theory and physical relativity" , Moscow (1967) (In Russian)
[2] W. Rindler, "Essential relativity" , Springer (1977)
How to Cite This Entry:
Relativistic invariance. Encyclopedia of Mathematics. URL: http://encyclopediaofmath.org/index.php?title=Relativistic_invariance&oldid=38734
This article was adapted from an original article by D.D. Sokolov (originator), which appeared in Encyclopedia of Mathematics - ISBN 1402006098. See original article