Parameterizing the Proper-Acceleration Three-Vector Phil Fraundorf, Matt Wentzel-Long
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Parameterizing the proper-acceleration three-vector Phil Fraundorf, Matt Wentzel-Long To cite this version: Phil Fraundorf, Matt Wentzel-Long. Parameterizing the proper-acceleration three-vector. 2019. hal- 02087094 HAL Id: hal-02087094 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02087094 Preprint submitted on 1 Apr 2019 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Parameterizing the proper-acceleration three-vector P. Fraundorf∗ Physics & Astronomy/Center for Nanoscience, U. Missouri-StL (63121), St. Louis, MO, USA† Matt Wentzel-Long Physics & Astronomy, U. Missouri-StL (63121), St. Louis, MO, USA (Dated: April 1, 2019) Abstract The implicit idea of global time adds dissonance to the bridge between Newtonian dy- namics and high-speeds/curved-spacetimes. However Newtonian use of 3-vectors connects naturally to a “traveler-point dynamics” that starts with “minimally frame-variant” proper- time/velocity/acceleration. This allows one to express the introphysics equations of constant accel- eration as a limiting case of characteristic-time equations which work well at both high speeds and in curved spacetimes, provided that we (as usual) approximate geometric forces (like gravity and centrifugal which are invisible to cell-phone accelerometers) as proper forces. This approach can help make engineering pedagogy “spacetime smart”, and be useful in relativistic physics engines used for cinema, video games, and interstellar travel simulations. 1 CONTENTS I.Introduction 2 II.Metric invariants and their solutions 4 III.Work-energy and Newton’s laws 6 IV.Uses in simulation and in pedagogy 8 V.Conclusions 11 Acknowledgments 11 References 12 A.Supplementary Material 12 1.Intro to motion studies 12 a.start with a map 13 b.traveler-point kinematics 13 c.map-based dynamics 14 2.Symbols 17 3.Numerical examples 18 4.Sample acceleration problem 18 I. INTRODUCTION There are many ways to describe accelerated motion in spacetime, because one can choose between using: time on map-clocks or traveler-clocks; • velocity as distances on map1,2 or traveler1 yardsticks per unit time on map1 or traveler2 • clocks; acceleration as second derivatives of distance on map1 or traveler yardsticks with respect • to time on map1 or traveler3,4 clocks. 2 invari frame ants proper or ration | cele Σξ| ac = | lf mα se | light or elf speed c s s d e r i t n o n f i t γ f δ e o δ m c i e / r γ e p r g e t ro er y p e l v a / m δ y m t n δ i - r δ t - i ime δ t k p t r 3 e c / i e f e l δ a = Σ o τ l d e τ l a γ l / a e c γ c e τ δ n t t c t a P c = v δ t o e a a i g e x i E d l m m i t ( l r x e a e i e p n m e δ e δ s p s o a k r g p c r p m m c i - ^ a o c w a l m f 2 r t ^ δ l a e u w p 2 ) i a c c ) t o t r a n n o s p e r s m o δ/δt v m t δ c δ x o y o t r i d c i o n l a e t v e δ/δt m a t a = δ s / c δ v p o n e o o r r i o d t u i a r n r s a e t l e e a c a c b e o m o - k e k t e a e n p i e d r r o c o FIG. 1. Scalar and 3-vector parameters for characterizing motion using a single metric: Practical use of the red parameters may require synchronized clocks, e.g. to measure map time at different positions, while the indigo “traveler-point” parameter set is synchrony-free, and has minimal frame- variance. In (3+1)D one can also resolve components with respect to the directon of either: (i) the ”heading” or velocity1,4, (ii) the “traveler’s map-acceleration”4 or frame-variant force, (iii) the coordinate-acceleration5, or (iv) the proper-acceleration3. None of these choices are wel- come in the Lorentz-transform world of co-moving free-float-frames6, since extended frame- works of synchronized clocks cannot accelerate lest they lose internal sync. Hence it’s not surprising that 3-vector treatments of acceleration at any speed are not generally standard- ized. Only one of these descriptions works robustly (cf. Fig. 1) for 3-vectors in curved space- time, namely that using “traveler-point” variables, namely frame-invariant proper time τ, synchrony-free2 proper velocity7 ~w δ~x/δτ, and magnitude-invariant proper acceleration ~α. ≡ This strategy mirrors the “one-map two-clock” form of the metric-equation itself, whose zeroeth through second derivative versions (with respect to traveler-time) define frame in- variants in terms of displacements on bookkeeper or map yardsticks and times elapsed on map clocks. Work with components referenced to the direction of the constant proper- 3 TABLE I. Constant proper acceleration ~α in flat spacetime: Here τ is traveler-time from “turnaround” when proper velocity ~w = ~w ~α, initial aging-factor γ = 1 + (w /c)2), and o ⊥ o o characteristic time is τ 1 (γ + 1)c/α. p o ≡ 2 o q 4-vector V invariant scalar timelike component V t/c 3-vector spacelike component V~ proper ~r = 2 1 (wo/c) ατo 2 τ t = 2 γ +1 τ + c τo sinh τ 1 τ 2 τ coordinate time o o (τ + τo sinh ) ~wo + τ (cosh 1)~α 2 τo o τo − τ h i t ~wo = 0 t = τo sinh τ h i 2 τ h i X , X~ τ → o ~wo = 0 ~r = τ cosh 1 ~α { } → o τo − w c t τ h i g µ ν h 1 i 2 √ µνX X ≪ → ≃ w c ~r ~woτ + 2 ~ατ ≪ →d~r ≃ 2 dτ ~w = lightspeed dt γ = 1 (wo/c) + ατo 2 cosh τ ≡ dτ 2 γo+1 c τo 1 τ τ velocity ≡ (1 + cosh ) ~wo + τo sinh ~α τ h i 2 τo τo c ~wo = 0 γ = cosh t ~ τo h i τ h i U , U → ~wo = 0 ~w = τo sinh ~α { } 2 τo √gµνU µU ν w c γ 1+ 1 hw i → 2 c h i ≪ → ≃ w c ~w ~wo + ~ατ proper ≪ δ2→~x ≃δ ~w 2 2 = = δ t δγ α 2 τ δτ δτ 2 = = ( ) τo sinh δτ δτ c τo 1 τ τ accelerationacceleration (sinh /τo) ~wo + cosh ~α δγ 1 h τ i 2 τo τo ~wo = 0 = sinh t ~ δτ τo τo h i δ ~w τh i A , A α → ~wo = 0 = cosh ~α { } δγ α 2h i → δτ τo w c δτ ( c ) τ √ gµνAµAν ≪ → ≃ w c δ ~w ~αh i − ≪ → δτ ≃ TABLE II. Traveler-point dynamics in flat spacetime: Conserved quantities energy E = γmc2 and momentum ~p = m ~w, where differential-aging factor γ δt/δτ, proper velocity ~w δ~r/δτ γ~v, ≡ ≡ ≡ coordinate acceleration ~a δ~v/δt. ≡ relation (1+1)D (3+1)D w c γ 1 ≪ → ≃ momentum ~p ~p = m ~w = mγ~v ~p = m ~w = mγ~v ~p m~v ≃ energy E E = γmc2 E = γmc2 E mc2 + 1 mv2 ≃ 2 felt (ξ~) map-based ↔ ξ~ = f~ + γf~ ~ ~ || ~w ⊥ ~w ~ ~ (f~) f = ξ f ξ ~ ~ ~ ≃ f = ξ|| ~w + ξ⊥ ~w/γ force conversions map-based Σf~ = δ~p/δt force:momentum Σf~ = δ~p/δt = m~α Σf~ = δ~p/δt m~a Σξ~ = m~α ≃ felt force:acceleration action-reaction f~ = f~ f~ = f~ f~ = f~ AB − BA AB − BA AB − BA work-energy δE =Σf~ δ~x δE =Σξ~ δ~x δE Σf~ δ~x · · ≃ · 4 acceleration looks particularly promising. We describe a parameterization of these flat-space equations of motion in terms of a characteristic “traveler-time from turnaround” c τ γo−1 , (1) o ≡ α 2 q after which the exponential or “e-folding” effects of constant proper-acceleration’s hyperbolic trig-functions start to “kick in”. Here c is lightspeed, α is the proper-acceleration magni- tude, and γo is the differential-aging (Lorentz) factor “at turnaround”, when the velocity- component parallel to that acceleration reverses sign. The result is a set of scalar (time, energy, power) and 3-vector (position, momentum, force) equations that reduce seamlessly to the familiar low-speed equations. Their application, initially in flat-spacetime simula- tions, is also discussed because (in addition to the hyperbolic trig functions) there are some important differences when operating in this metric-first8 or one-map two-clock9 world. II. METRIC INVARIANTS AND THEIR SOLUTIONS We start with the flat-space interval or metric equation in Cartesian form, as a spacetime Pythagoras’ theorem with “time-like” hypoteneuse: (cδτ)2 =(cδt)2 (δx)2 (δy)2 (δz)2 (2) − − − where as usual t represents scalar map-time and 3-vector ~x represents map-position, while frame-invariant proper time (elapsed on the clocks of our accelerated object) is represented by τ, and c is the space/time conversion factor e.g.