Abstract
We derive the topological obstructions to the existence of non-Cliffordian pin structures on four-dimensional spacetimes. We apply these obstructions to the study of non-Cliffordian pin-Lorentz cobordism. We note that our method of derivation applies equally well in any dimension and in any signature, and we present a general format for calculating obstructions in these situations. Finally, we interpret the breakdown of pin structure and discuss the relevance of this to aspects of physics.m
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Chamblin, H.A.: Some Applications of Differential Topology in General Relativity. DAMTP preprint
Dabrowski, L.: Group Actions on Spinors. Monographs and Textbooks in Physical Science, Bibliopolis, 1988
Karoubi, M.: Algebres de Clifford et K-Theory. Ann. Scient. Ec. Norm. Sup. 1e serre, t. 1, pg. 161, 1968
Michel, L.: Invariance in Quantum Mechanics and Group Extension. In: Group Theoretical Concepts and Methods in Elementary Particle Physics, ed. Gursen et al., Gordon & Breach, 1969
Wells, Jr., R.O.: Differential Analysis on Complex Manifolds. 2nd ed., Berlin, Heidelberg New York: Springer 1980
Ward, R.S., Wells, Jr., R.O.: Twistor Geometry and Field Theory. Cambridge Monographs in Mathematical Physics, CUP, 1990
Geroch, R.: Spinor Structure of Spacetimes in General Relativity. J. Math. Phys.9, 1739–1744, (1968)
Milnor, J.W., Stasheff, J.: Characteristic Classes. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press, 1974
Gibbons, G.W., Hawking, S.W.: Selection Rules for Topology Change. Commun. Math. Phys.148, 345–352 (1992)
Arnold, V.I.: Singularity Theory. London Math. Soc. Lecture Notes, No.53, CUP, 1981
Kervaire, M.A., Milnor, J.W.: Groups of Homotopy Spheres: I. Annals of Math77, No. 3, (1963)
Gibbons, G.W., Hartle, J.B.: Real tunneling geometries and the large scale topology of the universe. Phys. Rev. D,42, No. 8, 2458 (1990)
Hawking, S.W.: In: 300 Years of Gravitation. Hawking, S.W., Israel, W. (eds.) CUP, 1987
Witten, E.: Global Anomalies in String Theory. Argonne-Chicago Symposium on Geometry, Anomalies and Topology, 1985
Witten, E.: An SU(2) Anomaly. Phys. Lett.177B, 324 (1982)
Hawking, S.W., Pope, C.N.: Phys. Lett.73B, 42, (1978)
Kirby, R.C., Taylor, L.R.: Pin Structures on Low-Dimensional Manifolds. London Math. Soc. Lecture Notes, No.151, CUP, 1989
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by N. Yu. Reshetikhin
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chamblin, A. On the obstructions to non-Cliffordian pin structures. Commun.Math. Phys. 164, 65–85 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02108806
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02108806