Local differential geometry of null curves in conformally flat space-time
- 1 October 1989
- journal article
- Published by AIP Publishing in Journal of Mathematical Physics
- Vol. 30 (10) , 2238-2245
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.528549
Abstract
The conformally invariant differential geometry of null curves in conformally flat space‐times is given, using the six‐vector formalism, which has generalizations to higher dimensions. This is then paralleled by a twistor description, with a twofold merit: first, sometimes the description is easier in twistor terms and sometimes in six‐vector terms, which leads to a mutual enlightenment of both; and, second, the case of null curves in timelike pseudospheres or 2+1 Minkowski space could only be treated twistorially, making use of an invariant differential found by Fubini and Čech [Geometria Proiettiva Differenziale (Zanichelli, Bologna, 1926), Vol. 1; Introduction à la Géométrie Projective Differentielle des Surfaces (Gauthier–Villars, Paris, 1931)]. The result is the expected one: apart from the stated exceptional cases there is a conformally invariant parameter and two conformally invariant curvatures that, when specified in terms of this parameter, serve to characterize the curve up to conformal transformations.Keywords
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