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A new proof of the positive energy theorem

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Abstract

A new proof is given of the positive energy theorem of classical general relativity. Also, a new proof is given that there are no asymptotically Euclidean gravitational instantons. (These theorems have been proved previously, by a different method, by Schoen and Yau.) The relevance of these results to the stability of Minkowski space is discussed.

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Communicated by S. T. Yau

Research partially supported by NSF Grant PHY78-01221

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Witten, E. A new proof of the positive energy theorem. Commun.Math. Phys. 80, 381–402 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01208277

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01208277

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