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The Time Arrow of Spacetime Geometry

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Part of the book series: The Frontiers Collection ((FRONTCOLL))

Abstract

In the framework of general relativity, gravity is a consequence of spacetime curvature. Its dynamical laws (Einstein’s field equations) are again symmetric under time reversal. However, if their actual global solution, that is, the observed spacetime, is asymmetric (such as a forever expanding universe), this must affect the dynamics of all matter. While this was well known, it came as a surprise during the early 1970s that strongly gravitating systems possess thermodynamical properties, thus indicating an intimate connection between two seemingly very different fields of physics.

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© 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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(2007). The Time Arrow of Spacetime Geometry. In: The Physical Basis of the Direction of Time. The Frontiers Collection. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68001-7_6

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