2024-06-09 - 2024-06-15
Björn-Malte Schäfer
Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Heidelberg University
Causality established in physics through geometry. Our theories of fundamental laws are hyperbolic differential equations, which naturally show light cones as geometric structures. This causality structure explains the result of the Michelson Morley-experiment and the recently found non-existent time delay between gravitational waves and light. Closely related to hyperbolicity light cones is the question of dimensionality, i.e. requirements on the number of temporal and spatial dimensions that physical theories require to work. I hope to illustrate these two concepts with many physical, intuitive examples, from fluid mechanics to general relativity.
